The Rise of the Order
by Audrie Melone
Summary: As Lily and James enter their seventh year,war hovers on the horizon as Voldemort's rise gains momentum.Sides will be chosen,friendships formed and challenged.But N.E.W.T.s, Quidditch and budding love remind everyone that life goes on at Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1: The House on the Hill

A young woman popped into existence alongside a country road. Only by the moon's light was she distinguishable from the surrounding darkness. It had been months since the few street lamps in the area had ceased to work. Despite the warmth of the late summer evening, she wore a black cloak that fell to her feet. Its hood shadowed her face though there was no one about to recognize her.

Through the sparse wood rising on the knoll before her, she could see the bulk of a large house at its crest. Not a single light shone from within. However, she knew this did not indicate vacancy. Only a desire for utmost secrecy.

She pulled a wand from inside her garb. Her head moved slowly from side to side, ensuring that she was alone. "Lumos," she muttered. A small light expanded from the wand's tip. Her hand trembled as she held it out from her.

"Mortpresage," she hissed. A glowing, green column of smoke erupted from its end. Wriggling and expanding, it wound into the shape of the dark mark. It sent a thrill through her. People had learned to fear this sign. Power emanated from its very appearance. Being able to conjure the sign gave her that dominance. Potential swelled around her, and the prospects were titillating.

The insects continued to whir, and nothing happened as the mark faded. She was about to repeat the signal when a popping noise stilled her motion.

Another cloaked figure appeared beside her. Its tall stature and broad shoulders suggested that it was a man. His voice confirmed it in a moment. "Expelliarmus."

The young woman allowed the wand to be taken from her. It had barely left her fingers before her new companion grabbed her left arm and yanked back her sleeve. She lost her balance and stumbled toward him. The light from her own wand lit her forearm. Just below the crook of her elbow, a skull with a snake twisting from its mouth began to glow.

"Follow me," he said gruffly and released her. He did not return her wand but tucked it into his own cloak. It seemed as if he knew his way well enough for the moon to be his only lighting. He walked quickly, his footing sure, and the girl had to scramble to keep up. He wound his way up the path, through the trees. It was a steady climb upward, and soon the girl struggled to keep up. A stitch built in her side and her lungs began to burn as her breath emerged in painful gasps. But she never allowed herself to fall more than a few steps behind him.

More than once, she thought of requesting a moment's rest but determined not to look weak, she pushed herself forward. Her back was damp with sweat by the time they crested the hill and stopped before a large iron gate.

Her guide withdrew his wand. By its light, she could read the words embedded in the gate's scroll. _Tantum Purissimo_. He muttered a few words and placed his hand, still grasping his wand, against the gate. A bluish light flared beneath his fist and the gate sprang open without a creak. He swept through.

For a moment, the girl hesitated, as she craned her neck to stare up at the dark manor before her. Was the Dark Lord possibly here, right now? What if he were bringing her to him?

"We haven't all night," the man growled.

She steeled herself and hurried in after him. The gate clanged shut behind her. Her guide was already halfway along the rounded drive, and she had to sprint to catch up.

At the door, he again muttered a few words beyond her hearing. The heavy wood swung open easily, as if it weighed no more than a wisp of hair. She'd barely cleared the entrance when it slammed behind her, making her jump into her guide.

She felt the swish of his cloak as he swept around to look at her. But the darkness inside was more profound than out, and she could not make out his expression.

"Give me your hand." He sounded exasperated, but not entirely unkind. Speaking normally, his voice had a deep, youthful quality. She wondered if he weren't as old as she had first thought.

She wasn't sure how he could see but she extended hers. He took it and turned again to lead her along, through the foyer. His hand dwarfed hers, but it was smooth and supple. As he led her forward, his grip became so tight that her hand cramped painfully, but she didn't dare protest. Their footsteps echoed in the high-ceilinged entry, his even and long, hers pattering to keep up, until they were muffled on the carpet-lined stairs. They climbed a curved stairway and turned from the landing into a dimly lit corridor. The walls were lined with sleeping portraits, though it was too dark for her to distinguish who occupied the frames. She followed him down it and around a corner to a shorter, slightly better lit corridor.

In the light of the torches, she saw that the double doors to which he led her were of old, stained oak and had been carved with twining vines. Among these, on each door, the motto on the gate was repeated.

He let go of her hand and opened the door for her, holding it until she had preceded him through. The room appeared to be a study. Three of the walls were lined with ceiling-high shelves of books that rose beyond the light of the candles. A large desk, where the candles rested, faced outward from the corner. Drapes had been drawn over the window at the focal point of the wall facing the doorway. She could see little beyond the small circle of light.

"Thank you," murmured a lilting voice. The girl started, not having seen the woman engulfed in shadow at first. Now she emerged from the darkened end of the room into the light. She wore draping cranberry robes that swooped low, but tastefully, over her well-endowed chest. A long wave of auburn hair fell over her shoulder, accenting a high, alabaster forehead, delicate cheekbones and small, dark eyes that seemed to glitter. Her thin, pink lips turned downward as if she were perpetually displeased. Her face was chillingly pretty. The girl could not decide whether the woman before looked kind or cruel, and the balance always trembled.

The man bowed himself out of the room. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."

He disappeared, leaving the two females alone. As uncommunicative as her guide had been, she much preferred his presence to that of the woman before her.

"Tea?"

Unable to speak, the girl shook her head.

"Very well. It's a little warm anyway. Come," the woman gestured toward a chair in front of the desk. "We have some things to discuss."

The girl cleared her throat. "Yes."

"Then sit."

Her body reacted to the command before her mind, and she found herself seated in a comfortable arm chair. The woman swept around to the other side of the desk and settled herself into her own seat.

"I must say, you are very fortunate. The Dark Lord has picked you for a very important task. Complete it successfully, and you will earn your way into his trust. But fail," the woman's voice trailed off into a chuckle. One that sent a shiver down the girl's back. "Well, shall we say the Dark Lord is not one to disappoint. But, I get ahead of myself." The woman picked up a peacock quill and dipped it in her ink. "If we our to build the glorious future that our lord envisions, we must include those who are going to bear, spread and continue its creed. And for that, we need those like you, students who will learn to become leaders in a world of magical might. Hogwarts is the perfect place to begin. But we must target those sympathetic to our cause, at least, at first, so as not to arouse the suspicion of people like—like that Headmaster."

She spat the word, as if contaminated her mouth. "Perhaps you could give me a list of those interested in joining us?"

Licking her lips, the girl began, starting with those eager to become a part of the Dark Lord's forces before adding those who could be swayed either way.

"But we've already started sifting people through. Figuring out who's serious about it and such," she concluded. "Those who prove their loyalty find their way to you."

The woman tapped the quill against her lips for a few moments. "Very good," she murmured. She touched the parchment on which she had recorded the names, and it went blank.

Warmed by the praise, the girl sat up a little straighter. But the woman's next words brought a frown to her face.

"Lily Evans. What can you tell me about her?"

"The Mudblood? The professors think she's brilliant. Hogwarts's golden girl, you know? Severus Snape used to hang about her, but I think he finally came to his senses."

"Indeed. What else do you know?"

"The Professors adore her. She's a member of Slug Club—that's the group of students Professor Slughorn believes are going to be useful connections in the future. She's practically a shoe in for Head Girl. She has dated several of Hogwarts's most eligible young men. Only one who can't seem to get her is Potter." Bitterness made the girl's words brittle.

The woman arched a carefully drawn eyebrow at this tidbit. "Potter? He's friends with the Black boy? And Lupin?"

"Sirius? Yeah, him and Lupin."

"There's another one. Another friend, too?"

It occurred to the girl that this woman was well-informed about these particular Gryffindors. However, given the Black family's dedication to the cause and the Potter lineage, perhaps it was not such a surprise. "Pettigrew? He's considered one of the four, but he's the sycophantic sort. Probably couldn't figure out which end to hold his wand if he weren't friends with the others. He comes across tough when he's around Potter and Black but squeaks like a house-elf if you corner him alone."

The woman's eyes gleamed, and she blotted her parchment in her haste to take notes.

Leaning forward, the girl tried to see what she wrote, but the spindly words disappeared before an entire sentence was complete.

"Does Lily Evans have a boyfriend?" inquired the woman, drawing the parchment closer to herself.

"No. She was dating a Ravenclaw named Calum Dwyre, but they broke up in May."

"Do you know why?"

"Calum was fairly upset about it. He would only say that they just realized that they weren't meant to be."

"Has she been seeing anyone since?"

"Rumor has it Nott and Mulciber walked in on her sh—er—in a compromising position—with Black. But that's only a rumor, and not a well-grounded one." As much as the girl disliked the red-headed goody two shoes, she refused to stoop beyond verifiable facts. However, the woman seemed delighted by all of this information and continued to scratch out a series of notes.

Finally, the older Death Eater looked up and set down her quill. "Your help tonight has been invaluable."

"Is that all, then?" she asked, trying to keep disappointment from her voice. She had expected something more than reporting a list of potential recruits and gossiping about Lily Evans's love life. She heard enough of that at school.

The woman shook her head, and her bangs slipped into her eyes. "No, this was only preliminary business. But your task does pertain to the subjects of our conversation." She leaned forward, and despite the woman's beauty, her long nose and small eyes unpleasantly reminded the girl of a rat, as did the beadiness in her eyes. "The Dark Lord wants Lily Evans and James Potter. And you're going to deliver them to him. From what you tell me, he'll want to see them at the same time. But there are a few other things you'll need to do before then."

The girl smiled as the details of the assignment were laid out before her. Who knew why the Dark Lord wanted to personally meet that Mudblood. But this, this was a job worthy of her.


	2. Chapter 2: Tea and Hot Cocoa

It was not the first time that Lily Evans heard the front door slam as her older sister, Petunia, stalked out after an argument with their mother. Mrs. Evans' hands trembled as she lifted her plate and Petunia's from the table.

"I'm sure your father would have handled that differently," she said by way of apology to her younger daughter.

"It's all right, Mum. I'm sure she'll cool off and come back soon." Lily stood to help her mother clear the supper dishes.

"I wanted tonight to be special, since it's your last night at home. You'll be gone to Hogwarts tomorrow, and we won't see you until the Christmas holiday."

Lily followed her mother into the kitchen, using her wand to wave the rest of the dishes along before her. "Don't worry, it was special. You made all of my favorite things. I'm so full, I can barely walk."

Mrs. Evans set her dishes in the sink and rolled up her sleeves to begin washing. She wore her graying hair in a bob. In the few years since her husband's death, her once auburn hair had begun to fade into salt and pepper. Some of her laugh lines had deepened into wrinkles, but her lively blue eyes and slender figure usually lent her an air of youthfulness. Tonight, she looked tired and worn, as if every year were weighing on her.

Lily directed her dishes to the counter and set a kettle of water on the stove to boil. She set her wand down to dry the dishes while her mother washed.

"I'm glad you enjoyed everything, sweetheart. But I really wish the night hadn't ended with Petunia storming out. I would have thought she would want to see you off tomorrow. She ought to. She's your sister. I don't know what your father would say about her behavior. It has certainly gotten out of hand."

"He probably wouldn't have had much better luck." Water splashed across the counter as her mother scrubbed at an invisible stain, her eyes blinking quickly. Lily regretted her bluntness.

"We thought you two would grow out of it as you got older. But it only seems to have become worse. I thought," Mrs. Evans swallowed, "I thought that when your father died, this would end."

"I am sure she will come around. Especially now that she has a new boyfriend. What's his name?"

"Vernon. Vernon Dursley."

"Yes. Him."

"I hope so," agreed Mrs. Evans, brightening slightly.

Lily retrieved her wand and began to send the dry dishes to their cabinets. Personally, she wasn't sure Vernon Dursley would do much to improve her sister's unpleasant personality. From the few times that she'd met him, he'd seemed like a self-satisfied twat who talked about nothing but drills and more drills. And his promotions. But that was just her opinion.

Mrs. Evans slyly looked over at Lily. "And is there anyone you have your eye on?"

"Mum!" Lily laughed, but she could feel her face warming.

"Well, I don't see why you gave up Calum unless there was someone better to go for."

"That makes me sound so mercenary. You really think I'd do that?"

"Of course not. But you were awfully flustered over that letter that you received at supper a week ago."

Lily's blush deepened. "I told you, the letter was about Head's business. And of course I was flustered. Out of all the people Professor Dumbledore could have chosen to be Head Boy, he had to choose Potter. He wasn't even a prefect!"

"Maybe he thought that a little bit of responsibility would go a long way toward maturing James," suggested her mother. She shook out the last plate and handed it to Lily to dry. "Besides you at least felt it worth your time to say goodbye to him before the summer holiday." Mrs. Evans' eyes twinkled mischievously.

Lily pursed her lips, unwilling to let her mother's teasing fuel her protests. The only sound in the kitchen was the squeak of the towel on the plate and the whistling kettle. Mrs. Evans turned her back to her daughter and lifted it off the stove.

"I know you two didn't start off on the right foot, Lily." She wasn't teasing any more. "Goodness knows, I was certainly worried when you came home that summer with half your hair because he'd lit it on fire. And I know you hold him slightly responsible for the end of your friendship with Severus—,"

"Mum, he—,"

Mrs. Evans turned, and the gentle look on her face silenced Lily's attempt to reiterate exactly what Potter had done to her friend. Her ex-friend. But she knew the look on her mother's face too well. It was the one she wore when she doled out advice she knew her daughters didn't want to hear, but would later come to appreciate. Over the years, Lily had learned to listen to, or at least hear, what her mother had to say.

"I know. But Lily, people change. They grow up, they mature. And if you never give them a chance to prove that they've learned from their mistakes, then you may as well never have suggested that they change."

Lily's teeth clenched with resentment at the truth in her mother's words. Potter had said something similar in his letter the week before. _I know you're probably set dead against me. I mean, I guess I can't really blame you, can I? I know I've been a git and probably a lot worse than that, but I've changed, or I've tried to. I've been different, but I don't think you even notice because you're so set on hating me, no matter what._

She didn't hate Potter; she tried not to hate anyone. But he was a bully. A well-liked, even worshipped one, but still a bully. If she gave way, even a little, he would start to think that she condoned his behavior. Until he'd proved to her that he'd changed, actually showed her that there was a difference, she would only be as civil as their encounters required. It was going to be harder, now that they were Head Boy and Girl. But nothing mandated that the Head students had to be friends.

Mrs. Evans poured out the tea and handed Lily a cup. "Of course you don't have to sort out everything about James right now, sweetheart. That's just something to think about." Her mouth crooked in a smile, and she swept Lily's bangs from her eyes. "Don't take life so seriously, Lily. It's a bit too short for that kind of thing."

She took up her own cup and led the way back to the table.

Petunia returned just as Lily was bidding her mother good night. Her sister's face became pinched when she saw that they had just finished tea, seemingly unconcerned by her absence.

"I'm not going tomorrow," she announced. Her pale eyes defied her mother to object.

"That's quite all right, then," agreed Mrs. Evans. "I will put on tea for you."

Taken aback at her mother's complaisance, she rounded on Lily. Her lips spread in a sneer. "Glad you're headed back to that freak school tomorrow. Better snare one of those weirdos so you don't have to come back here afterward."

Lily tossed her hair. "Better catch that Dursley while he still looks more like a man than a pig. You wouldn't want to have your wedding in a barnyard."

Petunia shrieked and sprang at her. "You little b—,"

Reflexively, Lily threw up her wand as she stumbled back.

Her sister stopped midstep and backpedaled, her shriek becoming a scream. "Put that away! Mum!"

The kettle crashed down on the stove. "That is absolutely enough!" shouted Mrs. Evans, sprinting into the room and throwing herself in between her daughters. "I will not have this ugly back and forth in my house, between my own daughters. Lily, put that wand down!"

Lily's fingers jumped open and the wand clattered to the floor. Both girls stared open mouthed at their mother. Neither could remember her ever having raised her voice.

"This stops, now," Mrs. Evans continued. "I have had it with the two of you going at one another like a pack of hyenas. Petunia, ever since Lily started Hogwarts, you have ignored her, taunted her and not said a pleasant thing about her, her friends or her accomplishments. No matter what Lily has done to try to please you, you have only rebuffed her and torn her down. How can you treat your only sister like that?"

She turned on Lily. "And you're old enough and mature enough to know not to return kind for kind! I will not have you making rude remarks about your sister or her friends."

Mrs. Evans' eyes flashed and there was not an inch of sympathy in her face. Her lower lip trembled in her anger. Lily nodded mutely.

She looked between her two daughters and her shoulders slumped. "One day, you two will be all the other has in the world. I cannot force you to like one another, but you are sisters, and nothing, absolutely nothing, can dissolve that bond, even your dislike for one another. I—I can't die knowing you might abandon one another when I'm gone."

The trembling in her mother's lip gave way to tears and Mrs. Evans buried her face in her hands.

Neither sister knew what to say. Both pairs of eyes were locked on their shaking mother. She looked oddly small, and vulnerable.

Lily felt as if she'd been stunned. When she finally recovered enough to do something, she ran forward and threw her arms around her mother.

"I'm sorry, Mum," she sobbed into her neck.

"Mum." Petunia sounded stricken. Her thin arms crept around her sister and mother.

Mrs. Evans slipped her arms out from their embraces to wrap them around her daughters. They stood like that, sniffing from time to time, as the clock in the dining room ticked onward.

Soft lips brushed Lily's cheek. Her mother whispered, loud enough for each of them to hear, "I love you both more than anything. It hurts me to see that you have grown so far apart."

There was nothing either sister could say to this. Petunia would never admit how hurt she had been to find out that her sister belonged to another world that she could never be a part of. Lily understood that was why her sister had come to hate everything that was part of the Wizarding World, including herself.

Lily simply nodded and returned the kiss. She disentangled herself from her mother and sister and bade them good night. For a moment, Petunia struggled with herself and then returned the greeting.

"En-enjoy Hogwarts," she murmured. Her face contorted at having uttered the word, but maybe she found her mother's smile worth it, for her lips twitched before she pivoted and hurried from the room.

"There, that wasn't so hard," said Mrs. Evans, dabbing the corner of her eyes with her apron. "You better get to bed, dear. You have a long day tomorrow."

But something was bothering Lily. "Mum, you said that you can't die knowing we're at odds. What did you mean?"

"I want to know that you will always be there for one another."

"And you'll be here too, right?" insisted Lily.

Mrs. Evans laughed. "No one lives forever, and I wouldn't want to."

"No, but you still have years to come."

Her mother patted her cheek. "I hope so! Don't take everything so seriously, love. Go on to bed before you wear yourself out worrying."

Lily kissed her mother, retrieved her wand and trudged upstairs. Her mother's words weighed on her as she prepared for bed. Her mother had seemed a bit more tired, a bit more gray this summer. But she had been trying to hold them all together since her father had died of a heart attack just after New Year's of her fifth year. Lily had never really considered how hard it must be to bear her husband's death while trying to comfort and raise two daughters and scrape together their finances. She felt even worse about the scene that she and Petunia had just created. No wonder their mother had finally gone off on them.

Ashamed, Lily turned off the light and climbed into bed. She had another reason to be glad to be going back to Hogwarts. It would give her mum a break from the tension that bubbled over during her visits home. Maybe she should consider spending part of the Christmas holiday with one of her friends. All of her friends had insisted that their parents would be happy to have her over.

Lily's eyes flew open. When had she drifted off? She breathed heavily as her eyes roamed her room, straining to see in the darkness. A feeling of being watched set the hairs on the back of her neck on end.

"Hello?" she whispered.

Her owl, Arete, hooted from the corner. Lily sat up and threw off her covers. Cold sweat had stuck her hair to her face.

She scrambled from her bed and stumbled across her room, using the light of the street lamps to find her wand, which she'd left on her desk. She grabbed it up.

"Lumos."

Light reflected off her soft blue walls, lighting the room with a pixieish glow. Arete flapped her wings at the unexpected illumination.

Everything was in place, and no one but herself in the room. Her wardrobe stood open, just as she'd left it after packing.

She would have felt silly if the feeling of someone following her movements had disappeared with the light. Instead, her heart only thudded faster.

Lily waved the light, but there were no hidden corners in her room. Her canopied bed occupied one. She stood in another with her desk. A large wardrobe with a tall book shelf on either side was against the opposite wall. Her boudoir filled one corner and Arete and her cage the other.

Just then a breeze fluttered the thin curtains over her windows. She crept along the wall and peeped out. The window's bay shape allowed her to look out one corner without being seen. The street on that side was empty.

Her hands had grown clammy around her wand, and she adjusted her grip. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears. She dodged to the other side and gazed down the opposite side of the street. Empty. The curtains fluttered again.

Wand raised, she leapt in front of the window. There! Something had moved, barely visible through the curtain's filmy veil. She yanked it aside and scanned the sidewalk across from her window.

The street was empty. None of the houses were lit. Down the street, a cat yowled and bolted into the street. Maybe that's what she'd seen moving through the curtain.

To be safe, she closed the windows. She tapped each one, sealing it with an impenetrable charm.

All summer, she had been shaking off a feeling of being watched. Around corners and out shopping, she kept looking over her shoulder, sensing eyes on her back. Of course, nothing had been there when she looked. Lily tugged her lip. Was she going crazy?

Things had been like this ever since Mulciber and Nott had cornered her in the library last year. They had put a silencing charm on her before she even knew they were there. Mulciber had leered at her as the two forced her farther back along the shelves, wands drawn against her. She had not quite mastered wordless magic, and they only laughed at the weak shield she cast around herself. Nott had waved it away with a single word. Only Sirius Black's unexpected arrival had spared her from finding out just how much dark magic they had picked up dealing with the dark lord.

Since then, Lily had leaped at shadows. She better pull herself together before they sent her to St. Mungos for jinxing the air. One good thing had come from the encounter though. She had mastered wordless magic.

Lily climbed back into bed, but only tossed and turned for the rest of the night, always waking up wondering if she had really been asleep.

* * *

><p>James Potter was having just as hard a time falling asleep. He turned over in his bed and stared out the dark window. The scheme formulating at the back of his head all summer had finally come to him in all its simplistic, grand glory a week before. And tomorrow, he was putting it in action.<p>

After two years of chasing Lily Evans, he, James Potter, was finally giving up. In a manner of speaking. That is what he wanted her to think. He was putting the maxim less is more to the test and going to see if it paid off. This year, he was not going to chase Lily Evans. He was going to have her chasing him.

It was so simple, it was brilliant. He could not believe it had taken him this long to try it; there was nothing to lose at this point. If she did not like him, then he supposed she was never destined to return his feelings. But if, beneath that rule-bound, stubborn, prickly exterior, she really liked him, she may start seeking him out when he pretended to lose interest in her.

Being Head Boy was going to be a blessing and a challenge. James rolled onto his back and folded his arms behind his head. He was going to have boundless opportunities to prove how much he had changed, well, except for hating Snape. That was a part of him that was not going to go away, but then, he guessed he could try a little harder not to give into _every_ temptation to jinx him. The git deserved every nasty spell that came his way, especially after he had tried so hard to get Padfoot expelled fifth year and reveal Moony's secret. But to pretend for that long that he no longer cared about her, particularly if she started showing signs that she liked him—well, he couldn't slip.

And he had to do all this while keeping an eye on her. His invisibility cloak would help with that. He lifted a hand from under his head and ran it through his hair. The Slytherin Death Eaters were getting much bolder, and she was one of their number one targets. Lily Evans was living proof against the lies Voldemort was spewing. James felt sick, thinking of what might have happened last year if he hadn't sent Sirius into the library after he'd seen Mulciber and Nott follow her in. Even Hogwarts was not entirely safe any more.

That was why Dumbledore had made him Head Boy. His popularity would make people think twice about crossing him. And if that did not deter them, well, it was no secret that James was one of the best students in his year and had no problem setting people in line.

Lily would be the law and he would be the order. At least Dumbledore recognized how well they complemented one another, even if Lily refused to admit it herself.

Rolling onto his side, he felt around his nightstand for his glasses. He shoved them onto his facey and glanced at his watch. 1 am. He just wanted it to be 11:00 the next morning so he could set his plan in motion. Restless with anticipation, James finally gave up on sleep and flung off his covers. He needed to stretch his legs.

He crept from his bed and picked his way through the robes, books and joke shop purchases scattered across the floor. It had taken some persuasion to convince his mother that Sirius should have the room next to his, but she had eventually relented after they agreed to a trial run. Two weeks, no explosions, and the room was his. It had taken some restraint, but they had done it.

James tiptoe ran down the carpeted hall and twisted the knob of his friend's room. They had put a silencing charm on the door so it would not creak.

Sirius was breathing heavily in his sleep. Not much longer. James shook him awake. His friend sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Huh?"

"Come on," whispered James.

"Whassup?" yawned Sirius.

"Let's go for a run."

"Now?"

"Yeah."

"It's the middle of the night, Prongs," but Sirius was already climbing from his bed.

"I can't sleep." James peered out the door, just in case his mother had heard him leave his room. She had a ridiculously keen sense of hearing, honed by years of raising him.

"Does this have anything to do with Evans?"

"No. I just have to remind myself that I can still break the rules, even if I am Head Boy."

"Can't you wait until Hogwarts?"

"Fine, I'll go by myself. If I don't come back you can explain what happened to me to my parents." James had one foot in the hall.

It was an empty threat, but Sirius joined his friend all the same. He grumbled all the way down the stairs and out onto the front lawn. The moon was stuck behind the clouds and the night was dark as James closed the front door behind him.

When he turned around, his friend had already transformed, and stood waiting for him, his eyes glowing in the dark. James leapt down the stairs, feeling his arms lengthen and slim, his shoulders stretch and broaden, his face grow longer and his head heavier with the weight of his antlers. He was in his full animagus form by the time he landed, stamping the ground impatiently.

His sight was better now; he could see over the rolling hills and up to the forest that edged his parents' property without the aid of a light.

Padfoot yipped quietly, waiting for James to lead. He took off into the night, tossing his head into the wind. Only flying equaled the thrill of galloping across the open fields. Strength rippled from the sinews of his shoulders through his legs, he felt his muscles strain as he lengthened his stride.

His friend barked beside him, and they tore across the country side, James burning off his restlessness in the whistling of their passage.

He eventually brought them full circle. They snuck up the steps and let themselves back in, stifling laughter at the woman who had chased Padfoot with a broom for disturbing her hen house.

A light flickered on as Sirius closed the door behind him. Both boys froze.

"So there you are." The words were spoken barely above a whisper, but they heard each clearly. James's eyes traveled upward to where his mother stood on the landing overlooking the foyer.

Involuntarily, he took a step back. He had never seen her face so white. Her lips had disappeared and even from where he stood, he could see that her hazel eyes blazed.

"What in Merlin's name were you thinking?" she screamed. James's mouth dropped open, and he stared at her as if she had grown a second head. He had not even known that she could get her voice above its normal volume. "Death Eaters roaming the country, killing people left and right, and you two go gallivanting off in the middle of the night without even a wand between you! This isn't a game! Sirius, do you think you're safe just because you're a Pureblood? Your mother burned your name off your family tree! You don't know—"

"Mum!" bellowed James, breaking off her rant. "You don't have to fling that in his face. It's my fault we were out!"

Her look was scathing. "I don't care whose fault it was!"

James was on the verge of arguing with her, when his father's voice cut across his.

"Theodora!"

Mr. Potter limped into view. Unlike Mrs. Potter who clutched a shawl over her nightgown, he was fully dressed. His usually untidy hair, much like James's, stood on end.

He only fueled her ire. "Your father almost went after you!"

"Theodora!"

She rounded on him. "This is why I told you they needed to know!"

James's indignation faltered. What did he and Sirius need to know? He looked over at his friend, whose arched eyebrows echoed James's curiosity.

Mr. Potter threw up his hands. "All right, you were right. We should have told them." He seemed to have swept the rug from under his wife's argument because she gaped at him for a few seconds before she crossed her arms.

"Yes, we should have," she agreed imperiously.

They all waited to see what she would do next. Good-natured and patient, Mrs. Potter usually did not seem to have a temper. Even at his worst, James had only provoked a frown. He was no stranger to being yelled at by his professors, but his mother was an entirely different matter.

Only once, in his recollection, had she snapped at him. James was five years old, and they were on holiday in the south of France at the beach. Thinking to play a joke on his parents, he had begun to flail around in the water, allowing himself to sink down in the water and then struggle to the surface again. His father had dragged him, laughing, from the sea. But his mother had cut through his mirth, threatening to drown him herself if he ever did something like that again. He had begun to cry, and she hugged him and buried her face in his neck. Her arms had trembled around him and her heart pounded in his ear

Guilt burned away the shock of her outburst. It was not out of anger that Mrs. Potter had lost her temper. This was certainly not the first time that she had wakened to find him out of bed. Whatever she thought they were ignorant of had scared her enough to lash out in fear.

Sirius broke the silence. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Potter."

She jumped at the sound of his voice and color flooded back into her face. "Sirius, I do not know what came over me. James is right. I should not have mentioned your family in that way. I apologize."

Mr. Potter laid a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't we sort this out over hot chocolate, eh? Boys, could you put some milk on? We will be right down."

They needed no second invitation. James led the way downstairs. The Potter kitchen spanned a large part of the basement. A fire still smoldered in the oversized, brick-lined fireplace on the long wall. Wooden cupboards with marble counters stood against the walls of half the room. Racks of dangling pots and pans hung over the large oven.

A long trestle table occupied the other part of the room. Vases of flowers that James's mother collected from her garden ran along its length. James summoned the milk and poured it into the pot that Sirius had set on the stove.

"I've never seen your mum that angry, mate. Even when we set that niffler loose in the house." Sirius flopped down on one of the benches at the table.

"She only gets that way when she's scared. Sorry she dragged your family into it."

Sirius shook his head. His expression was oddly grim. "She may have a point, you know. I'm a blood traitor. I'm sure Bella knows all about it, now."

"Bella? Bellatrix Black? Isn't that your crazy cousin? What does she have to do with it?" James came to sit down across from his friend while the milk warmed. He had only met Bellatrix Black once, during one of his few sleepovers at the Black house. She had come over to announce her engagement and stayed to dinner, during which she had tried to convince him to join ranks with the Dark Lord, praising the purity of his long line of wizarding ancestry. He'd never told his mother about the encounter, afraid she would not allow him to go over the Black house again. Not that he had ever really enjoyed going over there. Anyone who kept dead house-elf heads on their walls, as the Blacks did, had to be a bit off their rocker.

Sirius nodded, an odd gleam in his eyes. "Regulus told me that—,"

James's eyebrows rose above his glasses. "Since when are you still talking to your brother?"

Sirius impatiently waved aside his question. "I don't. The git came up to me. One day after Potions. Told me Bellatrix had sworn, of her own volition, in front of a whole room of Death Eaters that if she ever laid eyes on me or Andromeda, that's her younger sister, the one with the Metamorphmagus daughter, she'd torture and kill us herself. If I didn't see the light, that is."

"How'd Regulus know? And why'd he tell you?"

"Gloating, probably," Sirius said bitterly. "Now that I'm gone, he's a little prince. Wonder where your parents are," he added in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

James frowned. He had not missed that Padfoot avoided answering the first question. Was Regulus Black already a Death Eater?

"On their way probably. Figuring out how they're going to break the news to us, I suppose."

"What do you think it is?"

James shrugged. "More than likely something to do with Voldemort. That's the only thing that gets my mum worked up. Dad had to start getting the _Daily Prophet_ at his office because Mum was owling him every time she read about another disappearance or death. She's convinced the Ministry of Magic will fall any day now."

They dropped their speculations as they heard Mr. Potter's uneven footsteps on the stairs. An accompanying thump told James that his father had resorted to using his cane. His leg must be bothering him. Again, a wave of guilt washed over James. Agitation and overuse usually irritated his father's bad leg.

Although he had retired and been called from it to work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Mr. Potter had been an Auror during his younger days. He had quickly risen to prominence in the department and was being groomed to become its head when he was sent to the continent to combat Grindelwald's forces during the Great War. While serving, he had been among a group that busted a large Muggle-born round-up. In the fight to free them, his leg had been mauled by one of the manticores set to guard the captives.

Only the quick work of a talented Mediwitch, Theodora Selwyn, had spared the leg, though no magic had been able to restore it to its original use. Mr. Potter's convalescence had been slow, and once recovered, field work was out of the question. He himself had requested a re-assignment to another department in the Ministry. He joked that his beautiful wife was worth all the pain he went through to get her, but on cold, wet days and in moments of agitation, when his father's face was set with grim determination against the ache in his leg and his limited mobility, James wondered just how much his once active father still suffered for his long-ago heroism.

Mr. Potter's face was just as set now as he limped over to the seat that Sirius had vacated for him on the bench. Seemingly restored her usual mild manner, Mrs. Potter bustled about as she finished off the hot cocoa. However, her lips remained pursed.

With her wand, she set out four mugs on the table and filled each to the brim. She finally took a seat beside her son, across from her husband, and set down a goblet filled with a teal concoction.

"Drink this, Cynric. It'll help with the pain."

Mr. Potter downed it in a single gulp as the others started in on their hot cocoa.

"So," he said with a grimace as he shoved aside the goblet. "I'm not even going to bother asking what you two were doing outside at this hour. Pretty sure anything I'll get out of you will be a half-truth and as long as the house is still in order and you're sitting here with all of your appendages, I'd say all's well that ends well."

Mrs. Potter pointedly cleared her throat.

"But of course," he added, hurriedly, "given the—um, current climate, running about in the middle of the night is dangerous, especially without a wand." He held up a hand to hold off James and Sirius's protests. "I know you don't take the disappearances and deaths as seriously as your mother, but she is right to be highly concerned about your negligence."

James's father ran his hand over his face and leaned back against the wall, staring at the ceiling as if looking for the right words to begin with. Mrs. Potter reached out and took his hand in hers. They seemed to gather strength from the contact. Mr. Potter straightened up and leaned forward, looking from Sirius to James without a hint of mirth in his eyes. His gaze lingered on Sirius. He spoke to him first.

"Sirius, you know the extent of the cruelty and irrationality that supports Voldemort's rise and cause. Your close relatives are among his inner circle. No, James, we have to face the facts, no matter how unpleasant." He leaned forward to catch the gaze Sirius had dropped. "Son, I am not saying that you're like them. But I will say that you will have choices to make. Mark me, even if you do not want to choose sides, you will be forced to. Regardless of your loyalties up until now, Voldemort will want your talent."

"He'll want more than that." Mrs. Potter's voice was soft but urgent. "You and James are the head of your year. And from what I have heard, you are quite popular. Imagine the influence he would have at Hogwarts if he could name the two most popular boys among his supporters. He won't stop at trying to gain your cooperation. He will force it." Her face was pale, even against her gray-streaked, dove colored hair. But her expression was resolute.

James felt their words sinking in like a stone settling in the pit of his stomach. He shivered despite the summer warmth and remains of the fire. Dumbledore was playing a bigger game than choosing him as Head Boy to keep order, keep any students headed down Death Eater path in line. He'd marked James as his man. So, it was Dumbledore or Voldemort? Either way, if his parents were right, one of them was going to force him to take a stand.

His best friend's face was carefully expressionless. "So, you're saying Voldemort's after me?"

Mr. Potter nodded. "In a manner of speaking, yes."

"Then I'm not coming back here after tomorrow."

Mrs. Potter grabbed James's arm to stop herself from falling backward as he jumped up so quickly that the bench rocked.

"What gives you that idea?" James demanded, trying to tug free from her grasp.

"I'm not leading Bella right to your parents!"

"Didn't you hear them? It's both of us he wants. You and me. You're not going anywhere." His fist came down on the table for emphasis, making the mugs jump and slop their drink all over the table.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter finally caught up to the conversation. With a grunt, Mr. Potter stood up and shoved Sirius back into his seat, while James's mother coaxed him to sit down again.

James barely noticed her attempts to soothe him as glared at his friend. There was no way he was letting Padfoot go through this on his own. They were _Marauders_. They stuck together. Especially in the face of adversity.

"—can more than take care of ourselves," Mr. Potter was saying. "No need to worry about us."

"We don't mean to frighten you. We only want you to be prepared for what you may face," insisted Mrs. Potter.

"I'm not scared, for me," protested Sirius. "But I can't let you—,"

Mrs. Potter cut him off. "Sirius, I assure you, we have taken precautions for our safety. This is your home, and you are always welcome. We—I felt we should tell you because knowledge is the greatest weapon we can give you against Voldemort. He is the type of wizard you must always be two steps ahead of. It's—it's better that you know the potential risk now than to wander, ignorantly, into it later. We don't want you and James to take unnecessary risks." She waved away the spilled hot cocoa.

The gaze she turned on them dared each to ask what exactly she meant by 'unnecessary risks.' James ran a hand through his hair. "Of course not, Mum. And Padfoot, you're coming back. It's going to take a lot more than Bella and Voldemort to come between us. "

Sirius grinned. "Well, I'll try to come back in one piece, then, Mrs. Potter. Wouldn't want to miss your cooking or charming company."

She could not help returning his smile. "If you don't, I will disassemble whatever is left of you. Now, you two better go to bed. Early start tomorrow." She waved their half emptied mugs to the sink.

Mr. Potter stood so that Sirius could get by him. He gripped James's shoulder and held him in place until Sirius and Mrs. Potter's banter faded up the stairs.

"Son, you'll need to be on the look out as Head Boy."

"Yeah, I figured that," agreed James. He was a few inches taller than his dad now, and though they shared unruly hair, poor eyesight and long noses, their physical resemblance stopped there. Mr. Potter was just above average height and stocky. James, on the other hand, had inherited his mother's slight build and height.

"Not just for yourself. I don't know if you have sorted yourself out with Lily Evans," he could not resist a grin at the pink spots blooming on his son's cheeks, but it flickered out as quickly as it had appeared, "but she's the Head Girl and as Head Boy, you need to have her back. It's not going to be easy for her, son, being a Muggle-born."

"I know."

His father's hand grew heavy and for a moment, it looked as if he were about to say something else. Instead, he patted James's shoulder. "Good, man. Get some sleep now. I'll be seeing you off in the morning."

James started upstairs by himself. When he glanced back, Mr. Potter was rubbing his bad leg, his eyebrows deeply knit in thought.


	3. Chapter 3: Which Witch

The next morning, Mrs. Potter fussed over James and Sirius one last time while they waited for Mr. Potter to come downstairs. She handed each bleary-eyed boy a napkin wrapped stack of toast and a small purse of galleons for the food trolley on the Hogwarts Express.

"I think I've packed all your things, but if you need anything just send me an owl." She straightened Sirius's robes and polished James's Head Boy badge with a conjured handkerchief. "Please try to stay out of trouble. And James, remember, you're supposed to be setting a _well-behaved_ example as Head Boy!"

"I'm sure Professor McGonagall and Lily won't let me forget it," he grumbled.

Mrs. Potter's lips trembled and she threw her arms around him, holding him tightly. "I'm so proud of you," she whispered in his ear. Awkwardly, he patted her back.

"It's just school, Mum," he tried to reassure her.

"I know," she sniffed, pulling away and holding her arms out to Sirius. "But it seems like just yesterday we were, we were sending you off for your first year. And now—,"

Padfoot's eyes widened in a plea for help as she broke down on his shoulder. "Er, thanks for everything, Mrs. Potter."

"No need to thank me. You're practically family." She allowed James to gently disengage her from his friend. Her thin face shone with tears. "You'll be joining us for the holidays, Sirius?"

"Of course."

"Right then." She sniffed and dabbed her cheeks with the sleeve of her lime green Healer's robes. Her gaze roved over James. "Here I am, acting like I've lost my senses. I just never thought—," but they did not find out what she had never thought because she suddenly shook herself and went to the foot of the stairs.

"Cynric! Cynric! Hurry along! The boys will be late if you keep dawdling!"

She turned toward them again. Sirius had plopped down on his trunk and was already falling asleep with his chin propped on his hand.

James was too wound up about seeing Lily and the early morning conversation with his parents to feel his lack of sleep. He kept running a hand through his hair and checking his watch.

"I'm coming, Theodora!"

As if she did not trust herself not to give way to tears again, Mrs. Potter gave her son one last embrace and dropped a kiss on Sirius's nodding head.

"I shall be late for work if I don't leave now. Remember what your father said, and be careful this year. No unnecessary risks. I love you." Her voice broke, and she waved herself out the door. With a pop, she disapparated.

Mr. Potter was at the top of the stairs in a moment. "Is she gone?"

"Just left," James told him.

"Good. She was crying, wasn't she?" He leaned heavily on the banister as he made his way down the steps.

"Not as bad as my first year," and they both laughed. Mrs. Potter had been worse than Moaning Myrtle, the glum ghost that haunted the second floor girls's bathroom at Hogwarts, the first time she had waved goodbye to her son as the Hogwarts Express bore him off to school.

"Well, she's right. We had better get going." He rubbed his hands together and scanned their two trunks and owl cages. "I'd say you're best off shrinking your trunks and the cages so that they can fit in your hands. It'll make it easier to disapparate."

James kicked Sirius's trunk. His friend jerked awake with a grunt. "Whadda you dotha for?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Time to get moving," James said brightly.

Sirius glared at him as he stood up. "Don't need to be so cheery about it, Prongs. 'Specially since it's your fault I didn't get any sleep last night."

His friend gave him a wicked grin as Mr. Potter helped them reduce the size of their trunks. Wand, trunk and cage in hand, James and Sirius filed out the front door.

James looked up at his house one last time before he concentrated on the King's Cross apparition point, and with a distant pop, he felt as if he were be squeezed through a fist. His glasses pressed painfully against the bridge of his nose, and then the pressure let up, and he was standing just beyond the steam-filled air of Platform 9 ¾.

Sirius and his father popped up on either side of him.

"So it begins," grinned Padfoot, shaking his hair out of his eyes as they moved through the gates onto the platform. The journey must have woken him because his grey eyes were alert and dancing as he took in the crowded platform. A girl in Hufflepuff robes turned her head as Sirius passed and earned a scolding from her mother when she dropped her ferret onto the platform instead of the basket held out for it.

"We have to make this year epic," agreed James, chuckling as the girl lunged after her familiar, which had immediately taken advantage of her distraction and darted off through the feet of distracted bystanders.

James pointed his wand at the animal. _Accio _ferret. Wriggling, it zoomed into his hand, and he held it out to the girl. She flushed a bright shade of pink as she stammered her thanks and took it from him.

"Well, your Head duties might curb some of your fun, but what you miss, Moony, Wormtail and I will make up for you." Laughing, Sirius dodged his friend's cuff.

"Just wait. I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Not any that will ruin our chances for the House Cup, I hope."

Both Sirius and James looked around for the person who had just spoken. Remus Lupin stood behind them. His face was wan and his robes were a bit loose on him. But his sun-bleached hair hid his gray strands and when he grinned, he shed his premature age.

"Moony!" shouted Sirius. He bounded over to the third Marauder and swept him off his feet in an exuberant hug.

James was there to offer one of his best friends a friendly pat on the back when Sirius had set him back down. "All right, Moony?"

"Yeah," he said a bit breathlessly after Padfoot's greeting. "Hello, Mr. Potter."

James's father nodded. "Glad to see you before you head off, Remus. Your parents here?" He looked around his son's friend, hoping to catch a glimpse of them.

Remus shook his head. "They're on a well deserved vacation to Majorca."

"You had your house to yourself and didn't tell us?" Sirius demanded, looking very put out at having missed such a dazzling opportunity. The Lupins had a pond on their property and were happy to give the boys free reign over it.

The Hogwarts Express's whistle spared Remus having to answer. "We'd better go find Wormtail, make sure he's on."

"Yeah," agreed Sirius. "Prongs, want me to take your trunk for you?"

James handed over his things and watched as two of his best friends headed off to find the last Marauder, Sirius's arm slung over Remus's shoulders. He felt a pang, realizing that the other arm should have been slung over his. But he had Head duties to fulfill. After he said goodbye to his dad.

He turned to his father with a lopsided smile. "Guess I'll see you at Christmas."

But Mr. Potter was not looking at him. James followed his gaze down the platform, through the crowd, to a petite girl with long red hair. Suddenly, he felt lightheaded, as if he had dismounted his broom too quickly. His hand jumped to his hair, and he ran his fingers through it several times while he watched Lily give her mother one last embrace before mounting the steps of the train.

Trying to recollect his scattered thoughts, James turned his attention back to his father. His face was drawn in the same thoughtful expression he had worn the night before. When James looked back toward Lily, she had disappeared, but her mother was waving to a window on the train.

"James, I need a word." Abruptly, Mr. Potter limped off to an empty part of the platform. James followed. His father placed a hand on his shoulder and drew him close. "Wasn't sure if I should tell you this, but I think it's best you know."

"Know what?"

Mr. Potter's broad face was grim. His glasses had slid down his nose, and he pushed them back into place before surreptitiously glancing around them, as if afraid he would be overheard. He spoke so quietly that James had to lean forward to hear.

"Look, son, I've heard things, through old channels of mine. That girl, Lily Evans, she got mixed up with the wrong sort."

James gripped his father's outstretched arm. "What do you mean, 'the wrong sort'?" But he had an idea who that wrong sort was and his hatred of Severus Snape flared to the surface. His wand grew hot in his hand.

He was startled when his father grabbed his wand hand. Mr. Potter's eyes flicked between his son's wand and his face.

"You're being reckless, James," he warned, an edge to his voice. "Wearing your feelings on your sleeve can get you killed!"

Immediately, James loosened his grip on his wand. The Hogwarts Express whistled and hissed.

Mr. Potter pressed on. "Keep your wits about you. What I'm telling you is only rumor, but the sources from which I heard it are usually reliable."

"What is it, Dad?" James urged as the train chugged to life.

"Apparently, she's on the list of people that Voldemort wants to meet personally."

James blanched. But before he could recover, his father pulled him into a rough hug and shoved him toward the train. He hurried on and turned to look at his father.

Mr. Potter stood slightly apart from the sea of waving parents. He grinned at his son, as if the last moments before James had run aboard had not passed. James waved back as the train shivered to life and made its way from the station, gaining momentum as it whisked them off to Hogwarts.

He glanced at his watch and swore. He was supposed to have met Lily five minutes ago at the front of the train.

By the time he came to the Prefect car, he had separated two fights, been accosted by several girls with offers to accompany him on the first Hogsmeade weekend and shown a couple of second years how to properly detonate an Exploding Expletive, among the Marauders's favored of their inventions. On more than one occasion, their enemies, namely Slytherins, had lost points for being accused of using foul language.

Lily was waiting for him outside the carriage, her arms folded across her chest. Finally face to face with her, his plan to remain aloof almost dissolved. He wanted to blurt out that she was in danger, that for some reason Voldemort was after her, but most of all he wanted to let her know that he would be there to stand by her.

"Evans, can we start one year without a scolding?" he demanded, sounding more exasperated then he meant to in his attempt to keep his arms at his side. He was not sure how she would receive a hug. Probably with her wand in his face. "Maybe try something more civil like 'Hello, Potter' instead of throwing it in as an after thought before you stalk off?"

Her cheeks went slightly pink. "That's what I was going to say before you started in on me, Potter. But look who's doing the scolding now."

Things were starting all wrong. He was supposed to be detached, but in a polite sort of way. The last thing he wanted to do was give her a reason to be angry at him.

He ran a hand through his hair and took a steadying breath. "Sorry, old habits die hard, right? Hey, Evans."

Lily smiled, and she unfolded her arms, holding her hand out to him. "Since we're colleagues now, you may as well call me Lily."

"Er, right. Call me James then?" he offered, taking it.

Awkwardly they shook hands and then let their arms fall back by their side, not quite sure what to do now that they were on a first name basis after so many years of knowing one another. Suddenly, Lily's lips twitched and, unable to contain herself, she tilted her head back and laughed. A goofy grin spread across James's face as he watched her shining eyes and shaking shoulders.

"Come on, I'm sure the prefects are wondering what happened to me," she said at last. She started to pull the door open but paused. "I'm still holding you accountable for your Head duties. Don't think that you just got a get-out-of-jail-free card because you can call me Lily."

"A what card?"

"A—oh, nevermind, you get the point." A strange look came over her face. "By the way, you've got a bit of lipstick on your jaw."

She turned too quickly to see his scowl. Frantically, he scrubbed at his face. His right hand came away with a streak of pink. One of those girls must have left it. Brilliant. Now she thought he'd been late because he was off snogging some girl.

Lily was already calling their meeting to order when he followed her in. She had taken a seat at one end of the table, which left the other end, and only free seat, for him. He scanned the faces before him as he sat down. Maria Villars, the Gryffindor fifth year prefect and a member of their house Quidditch team with him, beamed. "Nice to see you at this helm too, Captain." He grinned back. The other Gryffindor prefects, Geoffrey Polter, Moira Singleton and Derik Noah also called out greetings. He recognized most of the seventh year prefects from classes, one of the Ravenclaws and another of the Slytherins from Quidditch. And he did not need the seventh year male, Ravenclaw prefect to tell him his name.

Everything in him seemed to freeze as his eyes met those of Calum Dwyre, Lily's last boyfriend. Unlike James's, his hair lay flat in smooth waves. His eyelashes were ridiculously long, but James had overheard more than one girl sigh over them and how they framed his beautiful, blue eyes. James wondered if Lily had ever been one of those girls. A molten pit stirred at the bottom of his stomach. Dwyre did not look particularly thrilled to see him either.

"Hi, Potter," he said stiffly.

James nodded. "Hello, Dwyre."

"Tell me," drawled Evan Rosier, one of the seventh year Slytherins, "what possessed our dear Headmaster to make you Head Boy?" Several of his house mates snickered, but others shifted uncomfortably, as if they had shared similar thoughts. The Gryffindor Prefects glowered at Rosier. "Don't know how comfortable I feel knowing the rule breaker's now in charge of the rules."

"Considering that's the case, Rosier, I'd watch what I said, wouldn't you?" James forced himself to speak mildly.

Rosier's face darkened. "Are you threatening me, Potter?"

"I'm just reminding you of who's in charge," he replied pointedly, staring down his opponent. Rosier glared back, but said nothing more to James, who took the opportunity to look at each person, challenging him or her to put in their word. None did.

"If any of you have a problem with my appointment, I suggest that you take it up with Professor Dumbledore. Otherwise, I'm not going anywhere. I know I was not a Prefect, but that does not mean that I care any less than you about keeping Hogwarts safe for everyone, especially in these times. And that is what we are here for. To be examples and upholders of what is right and just. We were all selected for our talent. It is up to us to use it to protect those in our charge. The task may not be easy, but if we work together, we'll be the stronger for it."

A burst of applause greeted the end of his speech. "Hear, hear," called Derik, practically on his feet.

Involuntarily, James looked to Lily. Her head was tilted thoughtfully, and when his eyes met hers, she smiled and inclined her head to him.

* * *

><p>After James's rousing introduction, Lily had everyone go around and introduce him or herself. She laid out more specific guidelines and expectations for the prefects, briefed the fifth years on handling the first years after the feast and wrapped up by assigning patrol duties for the rest of the ride.<p>

The prefects left almost immediately after the meeting's close, eager to return to their friends. Only Calum and James lingered. She had been afraid of this confrontation since she had found out Professor Dumbledore had made James Head Boy. Not wanting to leave them alone together, she purposely took her time arranging her things and checking her bag. She suddenly felt acutely aware of all the rumors that had circulated around her break up with Calum, and, most embarrassingly and inaccurate, that she had left him for James. Contrary to popular record, he had ended things with her rather than she with him.

Over and over during the summer holiday, Lily had run through the scene in her head, wondering at the way things had played out and whether they could have been any different. During a rare escape from exam revision, they had been sitting on a distant, more secluded part of the lake's shore. Calum had seemed distracted throughout their walk there. She had hoped that he would share what was clearly weighing on him, as something about the piercing look he had been giving her for the past few weeks suggested he was worried about more than exams. She had taken his hand in hers and asked if something were wrong. Again, he had given her that look like he was gazing straight to her core.

"_Could you ever look me in the eye and say that you love me? That I'm the only one you love that way?"_ he'd asked.

Lily had taken one look at him and known the answer. No. Even as she realized that she did not love him in that way, as she tried to figure out how she could be so certain, why she could not see herself falling in love with the intelligent, compassionate, dashing young man before her, he had read the answer in her face.

Numbed by her discovery, she had only feebly protested while he graciously ended things. She had even kept her hand in his when he requested one final walk back to the castle.

He never gave her a straight answer about what had prompted him to ask her the question in the first place.

Now, as the tension in the room mounted, she wondered if he had believed the rumors about she and James.

To her relief, Calum offered James his hand. "That was a great way to start the meeting and year, Potter. I couldn't have said it better myself. Glad to be working with you." She should have known he was too noble to be less than cordial.

If James was taken aback, he did not show it. "Thanks, same here, Dwyre."

Calum raised a hand to her. "Congratulations, Lily. I'll see you around." He went off, leaving her alone with James.

"So, is there anything else I should do before I patrol?" he asked.

Lily could not help herself. "Try not to get caught snogging. We're supposed to be setting an example."

"Right, of course. Won't happen again. If there's nothing else then, I'll see you at our meeting with McGonagall tonight." He raised an eyebrow. But she could not think of anything to say.

As soon as he left, she slouched down in her seat and buried her face in her hands. Of all the things she could have said, congratulating him on how well he had handled Rosier's challenge, acknowledging his civility with Calum, she had gone back to that lurid pink mark on his face.

But he had been late for the meeting. How could they, as Heads, demand punctuality if they did not demonstrate it themselves? Potter needed to know that she was going to call him on his misbehavior. But she should not be perturbed because he had been kissing someone, only that the kissing had made him late. She should have addressed his tardiness.

With a frustrated noise, Lily stood and swung her bag onto her shoulder. She could not let her history with Potter get in the way of her judgment as Head Girl.

Halfway down the train, she came across a girl lingering in the corridor. Lily recognized the slightly plump blonde from Potions.

"Dorcas!"

The Ravenclaw looked up and smiled. "Hi, Lily." Her eyes fell to the badge pinned to Lily's chest. "Congratulations. I thought you'd get it."

"Thanks. How was your summer?"

"Thankfully uneventful. Yours?"

"The same. Where are you sitting?" she asked on a hunch that the girl was alone. Lily knew from class that Dorcas could be friendly and occasionally talkative, but on the whole she seemed to prefer the company of books to that of people as she was never without a tome under at least one arm and spent meals buried in them.

"Oh, around." Dorcas gestured vaguely to the carriage. "Some second year boys took over my compartment and got a bit rowdy."

"You're welcome to sit with me."

"That's very nice of you, Lily, but I think I'll try to find another quiet space. I have a few books that I want to finish before the term starts." She held up her book. Lily peered at the title. It was in ancient runes.

"Well, if you can't find anywhere, feel free to join my friends and me. We'd be happy to have you."

The Ravenclaw thanked her again, waved and set off in the direction that Lily had come from.

Lily found her friends leaning over something on one of the compartment seats. Whatever it was, it was highly amusing because Sera and Mary were bent double with giggles. Di clutched her side and leaned on Aurora, who looked mortified.

"Witch Weekly," Aurora replied to her quizzical look. "'Which Witch Are You?' Apparently, despite my serene exterior, I am a lioness in bed and keep men coming back for more. I need a man who can keep up with my libidinal demands."

Lily laughed too. Poised and reserved, there was nothing about Aurora Dunbar to suggest she was anything but so.

"Do Lily's!" gasped Sera.

The compartment fell expectantly quiet as Mary muttered over whatever quiz they had been doing, tapping her wand on the page to mark the answers. Occasionally, Sera interrupted to change a response, but since the girls debated in letters (no, she's an a. _no, c_. definitely not d), Lily was entirely uncertain of her fate. She helped herself to a chocolate frog from the pile of sweets on the vacated seat.

Her only warning was Sera's devious cackle as Mary sat back on her heels. "Right. Lily. You sometimes come across as a straight-laced, detached witch who lacks a sense of humor. But beneath the stiff exterior, there's a playful spirit kindled by your attraction to bad boy wizards," Mary's voice wavered as she struggled to get the next words out without laughing, "Learn to say yes, yes to the right one and watch your world expand." Fortunately, that was the end because Mary dissolved into mirth while Lily's face burned.

Di sank onto the seat behind her, rolling with laughter. Aurora attempted to hide hers behind her hand.

"That magazine is a load of rubbish," sniffed Lily, trying to take it from Mary to make sure she had not made up the results. Her friend shook her head and clutched the publication to her as she rocked back and forth, trying to get enough air to speak.

"I wonder if Potter would think so," gasped Di, wiping her streaming eyes. "All I'm going to think about when I see him is 'yes,yes!'"

Even Lily was forced to smile as her friends collapsed into another round of laughter.

* * *

><p>The conversation in the Marauders's compartment was unusually subdued. James and Sirius had just related Mr. and Mrs. Potter's warnings from the night before.<p>

Remus paled at the news, but Peter spoke up first. "Do you—d'you think he'll try to recruit me too?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Of any of us, he'll probably go for me, Wormtail. But if he does ask you, tell him to shove off, and I'm sure that'll be the end of it."

Peter's watery eyes screwed up as he looked to Remus to reassure him that Sirius was joking. But their friend was frowning at the floor. James slung an arm over Peter's shoulders. "Look, Wormtail, we all just have to stick by one another through this. I'm sure the Death Eaters are putting out so many invitations they're hardly keeping track of who RSVP's. Besides, we've all got Pureblood in us. If there's anything Voldemort probably hates, it's diluting the pool of eligible cronies. But apparently, blood status doesn't matter too much any more."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Sirius. "That's all he seems to care about."

James ran a hand through his hair. "Not in all cases. Evidently, he really wants to meet Lily Evans."

Remus's head jerked up and Sirius scowled. Peter twisted out from under James's arm.

"Why?" he blurted.

James scowled. "My dad said she got mixed up with the wrong sort."

"_Snivellus_," Sirius snarled, leaping to his feet, his hand halfway to the door.

Remus looked stricken as he tugged his friend back into his seat. "Padfoot! Stop! We can't go hexing him. That won't help anything!"

"But it'll make me feel a lot better." Sirius still struggled to get up.

James was glad he was not the only one who wanted to hex Snape until he was unrecognizable for putting Lily in danger. But his father had warned him against being reckless and attacking Snape in full force was not going to help anything, as Remus had pointed out. He needed to find out what the Dark Lord wanted from her, but he would have to do it subtly, and that was not his strong point.

"We should tell her," Remus gritted as he tried to keep a hold on his friend. Sirius stopped struggling as they all stared at Remus. "I'm sure she'd want to know," he pointed out.

"But what are we supposed to say? Watch out, he's after you?" argued James. "We have to give her more than that. And what if the information's wrong? I'm sure giving her an unnecessary scare is not going to earn me any points with her."

"Well, what do you suggest we do then?" asked Sirius, readjusting his robes.

"Until I find out what's going on, we don't say anything. I'll try to keep an eye on her. Make sure what happened in the library last year doesn't happen again."

Remus and Sirius exchanged looks. Sirius crossed his arms. "Prongs, you can't do that alone."

"I'm Head Boy. I'll have a reason to be around her."

"That's not what I meant. What are you going to do while you're at Quidditch?"

Before James could answer, Remus shook his head. "We all do it. We're the Marauders, right? We have to stick by one another, isn't that what you said? Prongs," he added quietly, "you're not the only one who cares about keeping her safe."

James closed his mouth against the determined expression on his friends's face. "Thanks."

Sirius grinned.

"So, how do we go about pumping these baby Death Eaters for information?"

"Maybe we should start with something a little less drastic," Remus suggested reprovingly.

"Like what?" James wanted know.

Remus looked around as if the answer should have been obvious. When none of them caught on, he rolled his eyes. "I think this is a job for Wormtail."

"What?" Peter squeaked. "Why me?"

Sirius looked disappointed that the plan did not include roughing up a few Slytherins, but James smiled, following Remus's train of thought. "You're a rat, Wormtail. Who better to follow them than someone they'll never notice."


	4. Chapter 4: Storm's Eye

Lily watched the stars in the Great Hall's celestial canopy, wondering if there were ever any ones that fell. It was taking an unusually long time for Professor McGonagall to bring the first years out for sorting. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that it had been a few hours since her last pumpkin pasty. But this was the last sorting she would ever see, so she could wait a little longer. It seemed both yesterday and forever ago that she had crept toward the three legged stool, her heart pounding as the hat fell over her head. She had felt as if her entire fate rested on those few moments.

She let her eyes drift away from the enchanted ceiling to see what her friends were giggling at.

Aurora tapped her on the shoulder and pointed farther down the table to where the Marauders were just taking their seats.

Catching Lily's eye, Sera grinned. "Yes, yes!" she said above the roar of students catching up with one another after the summer holiday. Her friends tried to smother their laughter. Di buried her head in her arms on the table, but her quivering shoulders gave her away.

Lily smiled along with them, knowing that this source of entertainment would soon pass. It was good to be back at Hogwarts with them. Even while they were having a laugh at her expense, she felt a surge of warmth within their circle. They had been friends since first year, and each had been there for Lily, in her own way, while she had struggled to recover from her father's sudden death.

As she looked around at all of them, she wondered if they could ever truly know what their friendship meant to her.

Applause drew her attention toward the front of the hall as Professor McGonagall marched the first years in for sorting. To her surprise, Professor McGonagall's expression was livid. Her hat was tipped at a precarious angle and her deep green robes were oddly disheveled. Lily craned her neck to look down the line of students behind her.

Several of the girls' faces were blotched from crying. One of them was still sobbing. Most of the children were pale, even more so than at most sortings, though several of the boys looked very satisfied with themselves. Whispers and laughter broke out in the hall as others noticed the state of the terrified looking first years.

Suddenly, something tiny and blue shot out of one of the boys' robes. Two girls screamed, ducked and knocked heads as it flew at them.

Professor McGonagall flung it away with her wand and rounded on the rumbling room. Pink spots of anger burned on her cheeks. "Need I ask who let a cage of Cornish pixies loose in the anteroom with the first years?" she asked shrilly.

As the Great Hall erupted with laughter, Lily, along with most of the Gryffindor table, turned to look at the Marauders. Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew looked carefully innocent, but Black leapt onto the bench, bowing to each of the houses. His antics were met with a storm of cheers. Even some of the first years, now past their fright, grinned around sheepishly.

Lily struggled not to smile as she called for order at the table.

Apparently, she was not the only one facing a bout of nostalgia. Black and Potter had emptied several boxes of snakes onto the floor of the anteroom her first year. Though she had to say, when all was said and done, snakes were preferable to pixies. At least she knew how to avoid snakes.

Suddenly, Professor McGonagall's magnified voice cut across the disorder. "SILENCE!" As if enchanted, the room fell immediately quiet. "Mr. Black, ten points from Gryffindor for standing on the furniture," she continued, her voice returned to normal, "and you, , Mr. Pettigrew and Mr. Lupin, are to see me in my office immediately following the sorting. Now," she adjusted her hat and retrieved the Sorting Hat and stool from the corner, placing them before the entire school.

Flutters of amusement still broke out across the room as the rip in the hat opened and the hat began its song.

Some may say I'm just a hat

Dusty, old and battered

But listen well, I've seen much

Of things that truly mattered.

Forgotten now, but well known then,

When Hogwarts's doors first opened

Proud were Slytherin and Gryffindor

To call the other, friend

Side by side they stood,

To build a school of prestige sound

Not a one before guessed

Their friendship was stormward bound

The room was absolutely quiet as the hat continued the tale of the strife that befell Hogwarts' founders. During her first visit to Diagon Alley, her father had bought her _Hogwarts: A History_. The book's telling of the end of the friendship between Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor over the acceptance of Muggle-borns had both thrilled and frightened her then, and she had admired Gryffindor for his open-mindedness. Now, the tale brought a sinking feeling to her stomach. She glanced at the Slytherin table. At Mulciber and Avery, Nott and Severus. Her mouth went dry. Hundreds of years and many still harbored such hatred toward those like her.

Let this tale be warning

Apart the houses each will fall

Divided, no one ever won

United is your only chance at all

The Sorting Hat came to the end of its song and stilled. Any sign of laughter had been wiped from every face. Lily felt chilled, as if she had just walked through Moaning Myrtle. Since when had the Sorting Hat given warnings? It certainly didn't know the future, did it? Whispers swept the hall and there was only a smattering of applause.

Di leaned forward. "Is it just me, or was that kind of dark?" she murmured, her face tight.

Aurora nodded. Sera shivered and hugged herself. "Sounds like something Professor Augura would say."

Lily had long since given up Divination, annoyed by its imprecision, but Sera was right. Professor Augura loved making statements that stole the warmth from her listeners.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward and lifted the hat from the stool. She called for silence before unrolling a scroll of parchment. "When I call your name," she directed the first years, "please take a seat on the stool. I will place the Sorting Hat upon your Head, and it will direct you too your house. ABBEY, RHEA."

Rhea Abbey walked toward the hat as if she approached her death sentence. She pressed her hands to her face as Professor McGonagall lowered the hat over her head.

Di sniggered. "You'd think it was going to bite her head off. Definitely not a Gryffindor, that one."

Rhea Abbey survived and joined Hufflepuff to loud applause. The sorting underway, the somber mood in which it began evaporated as each house cheered on its new members.

Lily stood and clapped when AUBURN, BLANCHE joined Gryffindor. Maria Villars, the fifth year prefect, patted their newest member on the back and offered her the seat next to hers. Slowly, the line of first years grew shorter and finally, ZINGEL, URIAH joined Slytherin and Professor Dumbledore stood, smiling pleasantly as he waited for the Slytherin table to stop hooting.

He held his arms out in greeting. "Welcome back for another year at Hogwarts. I am glad everyone has returned, heads emptied and bodies rested for the coming year," he said. "Many of you look hungry, as am I, so I will hold my announcements until the end of the feast." He clapped his hands and food appeared on the table. "Bon appétit."

Di had grabbed the potatoes before Professor Dumbledore had even finished, and Mary was well into the Yorkshire pudding. But Lily watched as Professor McGonagall swept along the Gryffindor table, the Sorting Hat and stool still in hand, her lips a mere line.

Her voice was too low for Lily to overhear what she said to the Marauders, but Lupin blushed and Pettigrew ducked his head. Black, as usual looked unabashed. Potter, or rather James, on the other hand, seemed to be protesting, shaking his head emphatically and gesturing to himself. In the end, she led all four boys off.

Lily smiled as she helped herself to some roast beef. Even if Potter—James—had not been the one to let to pixies loose, she was sure his hand was in it somewhere. After a year of serving as Prefect with Remus, she had learned that Black and Potter were certainly the ringleaders of any school disturbance caused by the Marauders. Unexpectedly, she experienced a wave of relief that James's Head Boy duties had not completely diminished his appetite for pranks.

While Mary, Di and Sera filled their plates and laughed over the Marauders' latest disturbance, the Sorting Hat's prophecy set aside, Aurora stared down at her empty one. Her thin mouth was pinched as if she were going to be sick.

"Aura, are you alright?" Lily murmured, setting down her fork.

Aurora spoke so quietly that Lily had to lean forward to hear her. "I've had this horrible feeling I've had all summer. Like something awful is going to happen. What the Sorting Hat said, it was," she trailed off.

Aurora's hand was cold when Lily took it in hers. She wanted to confess her fears of being followed over the summer but said instead, "The _Daily Prophet_ has everyone on edge. You're not alone in worrying about what's to come."

Aurora blinked and the creases in her forehead smoothed. "You're right. Everything is probably getting to me." Her smile looked forced as she withdrew her hand from Lily's to reach for the plate of roast beef. "Hogwarts is safe as long as Professor Dumbledore is here."

"I think you should talk to Professor McGonagall," Lily suggested, not quite satisfied that Aurora's fears had been laid to rest.

Aurora started to reply, but Sera interrupted. "What are you two talking about?" she asked as she poured herself some pumpkin juice. She set the pitcher down and grinned. "Is this about James Potter?"

Lily picked up her fork again. "Actually, we were plotting our revenge on you if you three don't stop going on about that Witch Weekly quiz. Which would you prefer, an enlargement potion in your toothpaste or a hair growing one in your lotion?"

Sera pouted. "And everyone says you're the nice one."

Lily smiled sweetly. "Right. I'm giving you a choice."

By the time the food faded from their plates, Lily had eaten so much that she was reluctant to stand up. Di patted her stomach and sighed. "That was satisfying."

Mary groaned and put her head down on the table. "I'm never going to eat again."

Lily stifled a yawn, her thoughts turning toward her warm four poster bed in the Gryffindor tower. The dull roar of quiet conversations along the tables was lulling. Several first years' heads drooped forward. She almost groaned when she remembered that Professor McGonagall was expecting her after dinner.

Professor Dumbledore stood and tapped his glass for their attention. The room fell almost immediately silent.

"I have a few announcements before I send you off to your dormitories," he began. "First of all, I have considered the petition that Mr. Black and Mr. Pettigrew passed around at the conclusion of last year and although impressed by the five hundred signatures that they managed to obtain, I must inform all of you that the Forbidden Forest remains out of bounds to first years and above. You may not enter it under any circumstances, including guided tours led by seventh years," Lily could have sworn that his lips twitched as he looked toward where the Marauders had been sitting, "other than by the instruction of a professor."

Several girls giggled at the Hufflepuff table just behind Lily. She sighed. How was anyone supposed to enforce any discipline on those four when most of the student population rewarded their misbehavior with laughter?

"Second, it is my pleasure to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Harker."

The applause grew only more enthusiastic when their new professor stood. Lily had not noticed her before, but she was certainly striking when she stood. She was almost as tall as Professor Dumbledore, but willowy, and so pale that the light seemed to reflect off her face. Her features were perfectly proportioned, and yet each managed to stand out. From her high forehead, to her perfectly arched eyebrows, large eyes, patrician nose and full lips, her face was a striking blend of beauty and command. As she acknowledged their applause with a nod, some of her dark locks spilled forward over her shoulder and into her large eyes.

Hogwarts had probably never seen a more beautiful professor. Half the boys stared at her stupidly as they continued to clap long after she had resumed her seat.

Dumbledore chuckled. "I am sure Professor Harker appreciates your warm welcome. Now, before I send you off to your beds, some words of caution. Despite the events transpiring across the wizarding world pertaining to Lord Voldemort," several people gasped at the use of the Dark Lord's name, "we have decided to continue Hogsmeade weekends. However, I will ask that you travel in at least pairs and that you refrain from wandering beyond the boundaries of the town. The Shrieking Shack will be out of bounds this year. Now for one last word: Petalglump."

Di shook her head as she stood up and stretched. "That man just gets odder every year. Brilliant, but odd." She was practically yelling to be heard above the noise of all the students swarming from the Great Hall.

Geoffrey passed by them, leading the gaggle of first years between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. He waved when he saw Lily. "Don't worry," he called. "We're on the lookout for any future Marauders."

Maria heard him and laughed. "Yeah, we'll squash them early. First inkling of trouble, and we'll let the Womping Willow take care of them. "

Several of the children who overheard her looked genuinely frightened at this threat. "What's that?" asked a severely freckled boy, shoving his frog into pocket.

Lily did not hear Maria's response as she disappeared into a surge of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws.

Another of the first years, a girl with thick, brown pigtails, paused to look up at the ceiling. "Ooh," she gasped, grabbing the arm of the girl on either side of her. "Look, it's gone all cloudy.

"D'you think it rains inside too?" one girl asked worriedly.

"That would be silly," scoffed the first, but she cast an uncertain glance upward.

"I think we've been left," groaned the third girl, looking around frantically. "My sister told me they only found the bones of a boy who got lost in the castle over night."

Lily interceded before any of them could start panicking. She swept her hair off her shoulder so that they could clearly see her Gryffindor Head Girl badge and smiled at them.

"Have you lost your prefect?"

The first girl shook her head, but the third one spoke first. "Yes," she said stoutly, pretending not to see her friend frowning at her.

"I'll send you on with my friends then. And please let Maria know that you've found your way safely once you get there." All three nodded, but suddenly became shy when Lily turned to her friends.

"Could you take them upstairs for me? Professor McGonagall is probably already waiting."

If she had left it up to Di, Sera and Mary, they would have allowed the first years to trail them upstairs.

"Of course, Lily," agreed Aurora, ushering the three girls before her. "We'll make sure they get back all right. You're going to be late."

"Thanks. I'll see you later!" Lily waved to them as she left the emptying Great Hall. The noise of the entryway quickly faded as she made her way toward the stairwell to Professor McGonagall's office. A suit of armor stood in each of the shadowed nooks along the wall. Torchlight flickered across their breastplates, causing a flash of light here and a shadow movement there, as if the guards were stirring on their plinths. Without the rush of students, the corridor echoed with her solitary footsteps.

She had just alighted at the top of the stairs when someone stepped from the shadows. "Took you long enough."

Lily plunged her hand into her robes, drawing her wand. Only James's reflexes, honed by years of Quidditch, saved him from the jinx that left a chip in the wall where his head had been.

"What the hell?" he demanded, glaring up at her from where he crouched on the floor.

Lily took in several gulps of air. Her knees threatened to give out as she clung to the railing for support.

She glared back at him, unable to put together a sentence. That feeling of being watched had put her so on edge, she was coiled for an attack at any moment. What if James had not been fast enough? Her impediment jinx had been far more forceful than she had intended. He could have gotten a concussion!

Finally, James shifted, watching her as he would a sleeping dragon. "Are you okay?" he asked slowly, moving toward her in a crouch.

"Yes." Her voice was several octaves too high.

"Just calm down, Evans."

"I am calm," her voice only slightly shaky. She loosened her hold on the banister. "You just—I wasn't expecting you." In truth, she kept anticipating several Death Eaters in training to pop out at her.

James straightened with a chuckle. "Obviously. Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you like that. Are you sure you're okay?" His earnest gaze held hers. Something began to swell in Lily's middle, dim but warm.

"Come on," he said, turning down the corridor. Whatever the feeling was, it vanished as quickly as it had come. "Before McGonagall comes to check on us. Wouldn't be surprised if she's joined the pool of people betting on when you'll throttle me so I won't let on about this incident. Want to build some anticipation, you know?"

Bewildered, Lily blinked at him, trying to recall what had come over her when he had looked at her like that.

He turned back toward her. "Are you coming?"

"Of course," Lily said briskly, disconcerted by how easy it had become for James to catch her off her guard. She wiped her clammy hands on her robes before hurrying to catch up.

A fire warmed Professor McGonagall's office. Two tartan patterned armchairs stood before her desk. Remnants of a meal and several plates sat on a side table.

James sighed. "That was my last Sorting feast at Hogwarts. No thanks to Remus, Sirius and Peter."

"You had nothing to do with it?" She moved toward one of the armchairs.

He winked at her but said loudly, "I'm Head Boy now. Something like that would setting a poor example for the student body."

"Indeed, Mr. Potter." Professor McGonagall had entered behind them. "If only you converted your wisdom in hindsight to foresight." There was not a shred of humor on her face as she lowered herself into her chair. James did not seem intimidated by her stern expression as he took a seat across from her. Then again, he must have received a lot worse from the head of their house.

Lily tucked her hair behind her ears. "You wanted to see us, Professor?"

Professor McGonagall looked over the two students before her. Her observation of James was measured, but it softened some when she turned to Lily. "Yes. I wanted to go into further detail about your duties as Head Boy and Head Girl. But first, I want to congratulate both of you. I am very proud to have two Gryffindors as Head students this year," she began awkwardly.

Coming from Professor McGonagall, that was some of the highest praise that Lily had ever received. She bit her lip, trying not to show how pleased she was. "Both of you have shown an exceptional capacity for leadership. Miss Evans, your incomparable performance in your classes has placed you at the top of your year. From the moment that you set foot in Hogwarts you have demonstrated compassion, tolerance and fairness toward all of your classmates, providing genuine friendship to many who had none." Lily blushed at such recognition.

"Mr. Potter," there was a wry twist to Professor McGonagall's lips. "You have come a long way since you and Mr. Black unleashed numerous snakes on your fellow classmates—perhaps in some ways more than others. In your fifth year, you exhibited courage, maturity and an unswerving moral compass when you intervened between your best friend and your rival."

With a start, Lily glanced at James. How could she have forgotten about the incident fifth year? Most of the school thought he had rescued Severus from the Whomping Willow. Lily was perhaps the only one who had come closest to guessing what had actually happened. If she was right, which she was almost certain she was, James had not only saved Severus, he had risked his own life to do so.

"More than once last year, you came to the aid of students facing prejudice because of their blood status."

Pretending to fuss with a wrinkle on the side of her robes, Lily lowered her head and allowed her hair to curtain her face. From the corner of her eye, she peeked at James. Fortunately, his chair was slightly turned toward hers so that she could see more than his profile. His face was unusually grave and attentive to everything Professor McGonagall said.

His hair was as scruffy as ever, but now it looked as if he had tried to smooth it down rather than ruffle it to look like he had just climbed off his broom. His jaw was stronger and his cheeks narrower than she remembered. When had she last really looked at him? He had grown considerably taller—they had been the same height in their first year, but she now had to look up at him, even when they were sitting.

And then there was what Professor McGonagall had just said. He had been standing up for Muggle-borns?

James stirred, and Lily jerked her head back toward their professor.

"I say all of this not to congratulate you for what you have done," she was saying, "but to encourage you to bring the best of yourselves to your new position. I am afraid that Hogwarts will need your strong leadership this year. The Dark Lord's rise gains momentum every day. Students may turn against one another in a time when we ought to be most united!"

The fire crackled in the pause that followed her words. Professor McGonagall's green eyes hardened behind her spectacles.

"What do we need to do to keep everyone safe, then?" James's face was determined. "Patrols after hours? Hogsmeade escorts?"

"James, don't you think that's a little excessive?" Lily asked tentatively. "I think Professor McGonagall just means we need to be on our guard."

"Lily, we need to be prepared. For anything. You can bet Voldemort is on the look out for any way to infiltrate Hogwarts."

"But there are thousands of protections on the school! And he won't dare attack as long as Professor Dumbledore is here."

"Which makes Hogsmeade the perfect target," James insisted.

"Right under Professor Dumbledore's nose? He's not strong enough for that yet. He needs more supporters before he gets that bold."

"How long do you think it will take him to get to that point? And where best to recruit people than at Hogwarts? He won't need to attack if he has people here to do it for him."

Lily licked her suddenly dry lips. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat to reclaim their attention. "You are both right. We do not want to raise unnecessary alarm by implementing strict procedures. However, nor do we want to be left unprepared and on the defensive should anything happen. For now, the professors will handle security, though you may be called upon as reinforcements. You are to go to a professor should you suspect anything. No heroics or attempts to handle it yourself."

She paused and waited expectantly.

Lily nodded that she understood. A voice at the back of her mind told her that she ought to tell Professor McGonagall about feeling watched or followed. But she forced it away. Only she could control these irrational sensations. There was no proof that anyone was stalking her.

James's face was expressionless as he consented. She knew he did not like just waiting for something to happen. He was a person of action. If trouble could be met head on, he wanted to be there for the first sight. Which meant that if she knew James, he was about to take things into his own hands. She almost sighed.

Professor McGonagall exhaled heavily through her nose and adjusted her glasses. She looked slightly flustered as she continued, "You both clearly appreciate the precarious position the wizarding world is in and understand how important it is for you to present a united front as Head students. I know you have had your differences—,"

For the first time during the meeting, James grinned. "I'll do my utmost not to give Miss Evans a reason to curse me." He turned to Lily and gave her a little bow. "Should I slip, I give you my full permission to use me as a living example of your formidable disciplinarian prowess."

"If you're still alive when I finish with you, Potter."

"And allow the Marauders to run rampant? Hogwarts will fall to them long before it does to Voldemort."

Lily laughed. "Well I suppose I can leave you within an inch of your life and deliver you to Madam Pomfrey myself."

James sighed reminiscently. "That woman works wonders. Miracles even."

The corners of Professor McGonagall's lips were twitching by the time Lily became serious again. "Professor, we won't allow our personal history to interfere with our responsibilities as Head students. James and I are capable of working together as colleagues, but should we not be able to resolve any differences, we will certainly come to you rather than allow them to disrupt the quality of our performance."

He applauded when she finished. "I could not have said it better. I nominate you to be our spokesman—er, woman."

"She asked for your cooperation, not sycophancy," Lily told him gently.

Professor McGonagall smiled, clearly relieved. "I hope that you two may continue to work well together then."

She gave them a few more details about their Head responsibilities and then dismissed them for the night.

"Mr. Potter, a word," she requested as James rose to follow Lily from the room.

He hesitated, then turned to Lily. "Wait for me?"

Lily thought she saw Professor McGonagall's eyebrows arch over the rim of her spectacles, but the action was too quick for her to be certain.

Outside, Lily leaned against the wall, a little way from the door so that she would not accidentally overhear their conversation. A group of medieval merchants snoozed in their portrait across from her. One of them had a whistling snore that caused another to grunt in his sleep from time to time.

As she waited for James, Lily tried to sort through all of the thoughts buzzing through her head.

First, how naïve she had been to think that Hogwarts was somehow insulated from the events going on throughout the country. James was right. Voldemort would not want to leave Hogwarts untouched. And she herself knew that he had at least the support, if not the participation, of several students' families. Wizarding politics had always played a part in the antagonism that went on in school. Only now, the stakes were higher.

Second, well, there was James Potter. He suddenly seemed so much older, so different than what she remembered him to be. Was he, in fact, past being an arrogant berk who hexed people for the hell of it? Or was this all a show that would fade, unsupportable, over the next week? Was he trying to gain her trust enough to blindside her?

Lily tugged at her lower lip. Slytherins played these mind games. Maybe if she was just honest with him. But honest about what?

A dull ache filled her chest as she thought of her childhood best friend. Severus. She had tried to overlook what others had so clearly seen. They just didn't know the home he came from, the abuse he'd faced, his loneliness. Give him a chance, she had always pleaded, even after many of her attempts to draw him into her crowd of friends had failed miserably. She had wanted him to be good. Had hoped that her wanting it enough would somehow make him better. Even still, she believed that her faith in him had not been wrongly placed. No one who was bad through and through would have pleaded for her forgiveness as he had.

Lily buried her face in her hands. She had argued for everyone to give Sev a chance so who was she to deny that to James? That was all he had asked for. And it shouldn't be a great loss to her if he had not changed.

"Ready?" James had finally emerged from Professor McGonagall's office.

She nodded, and they set out for Gryffindor Tower. Lily grew curious as the silence between them persisted. She had assumed that he wanted her to wait so that he could have a word. Instead, he seemed absorbed in taking in their surroundings, as if he had never seen the walls of sleeping portraits, the tall pointed archways or the tapestries he held aside to let her pass through before him.

Finally, practically itching at the silence, Lily cleared her throat. "I think the meeting with Professor McGonagall went well."

"Same."

She waited for him to go on, but he seemed to have said all he intended.

"What did you think of the Sorting Hat's song?" she tried again.

"A bit ominous."

"How was your summer?"

"Not bad."

Lily gave up.

Aurora was the only one still awake by the time Lily reached her room. Di had already hung her quidditch posters. Beside her Holyhead Harpies poster, the one of Flavio Guerra, the gorgeous chaser for the Spanish national quidditch team, patted his yawn before winking at Lily.

The wall above Mary's nightstand was patterned with cutouts of the Beatles. She had been shocked, and disappointed, first year when only Lily had shrieked over her signed poster of the Beatles crossing Abbey Road.

Sera had clearly been showing off the newest additions to her vast collection of accessories and shoes because she had left half of them scattered on the floor. Lily picked her way around them on her way to Aurora who sat with her chin resting on her knees in the pillowed window seat.

She had turned from the window at the sound of the door opening. "Couldn't sleep," she whispered. "How did your meeting with Professor McGonagall go?"

Sitting down across from her, Lily recounted everything they had talked about in the meeting with Professor McGonagall.

Aurora sighed when she finished, and her face suddenly looked years older. "I think James was right, to be so cautious. Lily, most don't even know the half of what is happening. The Ministry is trying to keep things quiet, but already there are suspicions of infiltration, more missing people than reported. The giants are gathering in the north. Muggles are dying left and right, but of course, the Daily Prophet doesn't report on _them_ and Muggle newspapers don't see it as front page news. And then, there's Professor Harker."

Lily's head was beginning to swim with the implications of Aurora's information. "What about her?"

"She fought in the war against Grindelwald. She was one of the top Dark Wizard catchers. She'd go off on her own and reappear with four or five dark wizards practically begging for arrest. Some of them just disappeared, and then reappeared, out of their minds but harmless."

"But she hardly looks older than we do. That war was over twenty years ago!"

Her friend nodded. "Dhampir's don't age like wizards."

Lily blinked. Was Aurora really saying that their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was part vampire?

Aurora shrugged. "At least it's rumored that's what she is."

"So, you think she's here in case Voldemort turns toward Hogwarts?"

Leaning her head back against the wall, Aurora gave her friend an appraising look. Her blue eyes seemed to burn in the moonlight. "Lily," there was an edge to Aurora's voice, "I don't think you understand. Voldemort's here. He's everywhere. He's just waiting to make a move. And when he does, it's going to be devastating."

Lily felt a chill down her back. She wished Aurora would blink but her gaze did not waver and only hardened the longer she remained quiet. Lily looked away, looked down on the shadowy grounds, at the soft light filtering through the curtains of the gamekeeper's cabin.

According to Aurora and James, the wizarding world was waiting in the quiet before the storm. It was only a matter of time before the Dark Lord burst through the peaceful façade. Was it naïve to think that they were overreacting? Surely the Ministry would capture Voldemort soon and this would all be over. And everyone said Hogwarts was the safest place, with Dumbledore as Headmaster.

But the Slytherin crowd that Severus had fallen into was evil. Pure evil. She turned toward the bed where Mary slept, remembering how Mulciber had cast a shadowy spell around her face. At first several students had laughed while Mary began to shake her head and then to claw at the shadow as Lily tried to counter the curse. Her friend would have suffocated had Professor Slughorn not happened to have followed them from class, forcing Mulciber to break the spell or get caught.

Mulciber had been only a fifth year. And then there was what the sorting hat had said.

Aurora and James were right. Hogwarts was no longer safe. She would be a fool to pretend it was.

"So, I guess we're just waiting now?" Lily whispered finally.

Aurora hugged her knees to her chest. "And hoping we're wrong."

The ceiling of the Great Hall was a bright, clear blue at breakfast Monday morning. Not a cloud marred its expansive length. Sunlight burst through the windows above them.

Aurora gazed upward as she nibbled on a bit of bacon. "Makes you wish we didn't have to have classes or work today," she sighed wistfully.

Di helped herself to more eggs. "I feel like I should be sorry this is the last time I'm getting a list of classes." She shook the spoon to get off every last bit of egg. "But this feels brilliant!"

"It's not as if this is the end of school, though," pointed out Aurora, her voice growing excited as she went on, "I'm sure whatever we do after Hogwarts will require further classes and training. I know every Ministry department requires a rigorous training period, though some are longer than others. And of course, St. Mungo's has its own school for healers. Dad told me that Gringotts procedures are the most demanding, though he couldn't say why."

"Don't remind me," grumbled Di, cutting her friend off. "My mum's been at me all summer. I think she's afraid that if I have a moment to think about it for myself, I'll choose quidditch."

"Morning, Lily."

Lily turned, her toast poised halfway to her mouth. Her eyes traveled upward and paused at the Head Boy badge. James stood over her, his hands in his pockets, a friendly smile on his face.

Her first instinct was that he was up to no good. A glance down the tables showed her that the other Marauders were already seated, shoveling food into their mouths as if they hadn't eaten in days instead of hours. But James wasn't wearing that carefully neutral expression he donned when he was trying to ward off her suspicion. Instead, his face looked open, nonchalant.

Slowly she lowered her bread, weighing the situation. Di also put her food down, a look of anticipation dawning on her face.

"What did you do now, Po—James?"

He chuckled. "That's my girl, always suspicious, even of simple pleasantries. Just wanted to wish you a good morning on this beautiful, first day of classes."

James retreated before Lily could think of something to say. She stared after him long enough to realize that she should have said something. Should she still? Or was it too late? And she wasn't his girl.

"Well, that was interesting," commented Di.

Lily started. Both of her friends were watching her. "What?" she said, cramming her toast into her mouth to hide her embarrassment.

To her relief, the snap of flapping wings announced the arrival of the morning post, and she was able to change the subject.

Sera and Mary joined them just as Professor McGonagall began to distribute schedules. As usual, Sera looked as if she had just stepped out of _Vogue_. Her blond hair fell in perfect feathered waves and not a bit of her makeup was out of line.

"What's new?" she asked Aurora who was pouring over the _Daily Prophet_ with knit brows.

"Nothing. The front page story is about a rampaging dragon in northern Scotland." She rifled through a few more pages, shaking her head.

"Well, that's a good thing, isn't it?" Mary wanted to know. "Like, no news is good news?"

"Maybe," Aurora said carefully, "or maybe it's just a diversionary tactic. In this case, what's not said may be more important than what is."

Sera rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Aura, you're beginning to sound as gloomy as Professor Augura. For one second, can you just believe that maybe there isn't anything more than what the Prophet's reporting. Personally, I'm getting tired of all this doomsaying." Her knife clattered against the plate as she set it down.

Without another word, Aurora folded up the paper and stowed it in her bag. Lily could tell from Aura's deliberate motions that she was hurt. Sera chewed determinedly on her bite of toast, Mary busied herself with filling her plate, and Di merely shrugged and went back to her breakfast.

"Well, better safe than sorry. You can never be too careful," Lily said firmly. "Anyway here comes Professor McGonagall."

The Head of their house had reached them, stopping at Lily first. She tapped the top parchment with her wand.

"Miss Evans, I presume you are continuing with all of your N.E.W.T. level classes? This is your last opportunity to drop any, should you wish to do so," she said, handing over Lily's schedule. "However, you will first have to meet with me before any changes are made."

Lily smiled but shook her head. "I think I'm all set, Professor." She had little idea of what to do after Hogwarts and had continued on with all of the core classes so that she would be sure to qualify for whatever she pursued after graduation.

"What if we just decide to drop out all together?" muttered Di as she took her parchment.

"In that case, you would still have to meet with me, Miss Tighe."

Diana glanced at her schedule and sighed. "I'm starting to think quidditch is a valid option after all." She tossed it down on the table in front of her.

Sera leaned over to read it and wrinkled her nose. "I don't see why you're still taking potions. It must be one of the most boring subjects offered here. I tried to burn my cauldron the day I finished my O.W.L.s."

Lily, who found Potions far from dull, refrained from saying anything. She was looking forward to it.

They had Potions first on Monday. Only she, Di and Aurora had continued with the subject so they parted from Mary and Sera in the entryway.

As Lily entered the room, Professor Slughorn let out a jovial laugh. She smiled—he looked like a green balloon bouncing along the floor as he came toward her. A green balloon with a very thick mustache.

"Miss Evans, my dear girl! Our final year together!"

"I could always fail my N.E.W.T.s and request to take them over," she teased as she followed Di and Aurora to a station. Today, the usual three person tables had been pushed together to form four larger tables that had been arranged in a square formation. Stools were set along the outside perimeter so that they all faced inward. Unlike the year before, there were no simmering potions at the front of the room. Nothing was written on the blackboard and there was not a single cauldron in sight.

Professor Slughorn wagged his head. "I won't have anyone believing you're any less brilliant than you are, my dear. Even for my sake."

"How touching," muttered Di as he turned to greet Sirius just as boisterously.

Lily chuckled. "He means well." Her laughter trailed off as she caught sight of Severus at the farthest corner of one of the tables. Dark circles ringed eyes that he was fighting to keep open. His cheeks were gaunt and sallow. It looked as if he hadn't slept or eaten in months.

She watched him as she pulled her books from her bag. He had always sneered at Professor Slughorn's affinity for the famous and up and coming, but she knew potions was his favorite subject. He had never been anything but wide awake for the lesson.

Professor Slughorn clapped his hands together as he returned to the front of the classroom, calling Lily's attention from Severus. The professor's mustache quivered, barely able to contain his excitement. He waved his wand and a turquoise bowler sprouted from the tip with a pop.

He beamed around at them, as if waiting for someone to ask what the hat was for.

"Er, Professor Slughorn," Calum ventured, raising his hand. "Are we having class today?"

Professor Slughorn chortled and rocked back on his heels. "Of course, my boy! Of, course!"

He picked up the hat with a ceremonious sweep of his hand. Di raised an eyebrow at Lily, but she shrugged. Across the room, Severus jerked awake and scowled around. But no one but her had been paying him any attention. Their eyes were all focused on where Professor Slughorn stood at the front of the room, shaking the hat.

"In a few moments, you'll be drawing the name of the person with whom you'll be working with until the Christmas holiday. Together, you will decipher the ingredients of and prepare an Everlasting Elixir. Who can tell me what tell what an Everlasting Elixir is?"

Though Lily raised her hand, another had shot up before he had even finished the question. Professor Slughorn smiled. "Miss Meadowes!"

Dorcas folded her hands on the desk. "An Everlasting Elixir has a permanent, irreversible effect on that to which it is applied. The potion itself is easy to brew but its complexity derives from the necessity of adjusting both its ingredients and proportions when adding it to another potion. It is most frequently used in medicinal potions as it sustains the healing capabilities of the remedy."

"Very good, Miss Meadowes," he said, nodding happily, "That's ten points to Ravenclaw. Now, your assignment will be to brew a potion to cure one of the ailments on a list that I will give you. As Miss Meadowes cleverly stated, you will have to combine it with an Everlasting Elixir to secure its healing ability. You will also have to prepare an antidote, which will be used to test the success of your potion. If your assignment is as it should be, the antidote will be ineffective. However, anything less than a perfect Everlasting Elixir, and your potion will be undone. Any questions?"

No one raised a hand. Lily glanced furtively toward James, half expecting him to be inching toward her as he had over the past year when professors mentioned partnering. To her surprise, he was turned toward the brunette Ravenclaw girl sitting next to Dorcas Meadowes.

And she was smiling back at him! She _winked_. James blushed.

Following Lily's gaze toward James, Di leaned in. "If you get James, you want to switch?" she whispered. "I think I'll have enough fun watching you trying to survive being Head Girl with him," she added with a wicked grin.

Aurora shook her head, keeping one eye on Professor Slughorn as he proffered the hat to a large, blond Slytherin. "You mean you don't want to hear Lily gripe every time he uses the opportunity to ask her on a date."

"No, I'm just trying to be a good friend."

Lily gripped the edge of her desk as she watched James run a hand through his hair. He was showing off again. She had to force her teeth apart in order to talk. "That's ok, I'll take him. Believe me, I can handle James Potter."

Di laughed. "From the look on your face, I don't doubt it."

Aurora parted her lips to say something but instead, her head titled thoughtfully. Then she frowned and looked from James to the Ravenclaw who was looking on as Dorcas drew a name. The latter read the strip of paper, looked up and waved. For a moment, Lily's heart sank as she thought that the Ravenclaw had drawn hers. But then she pointed to Aurora, and Lily let her shoulders relax.

Until it was James's turn to draw. Just as he plunged his hand into the hat, his eye caught hers. Lily scowled and jerked her head away, glaring at a point over his head. Great, now he'd think she was actually interested in who he partnered with.

And she couldn't look now because she knew his eyes would be on her, waiting for him to glance at him again.

Professor Slughorn shook the hat and moved along the table so that he blocked James from view. Immediately, Lily leaned toward Aura.

"Who'd he get?"

"That Ravenclaw."

Something twisted in her chest, like a scrap of hope had gotten lodged there. If she were honest with herself, she'd had her fingers crossed that James would draw her name. At least his humor would have lightened the long hours that this project would require.

"Oh ho, you're a lucky one there, sir," said Professor Slughorn.

Lily looked up to see Sirius Black grinning at her and waving a scrap of paper over his head.

"I can't believe this!" Lily burst out as they emerged from the Potions dungeon. "Of all the people who could have drawn my name, I get stuck with Sirius Black!"

"You're not the only one who's disappointed," offered Di, "Snape and Dwyer didn't seem too happy about it either. Should've seen the scowl on Snape's face!"

"Just look at it as an opportunity to keep an eye on Sirius," Aurora said bracingly. "The harder he's working on the project, the less time he has for mischief. I'm sure—,"

But precisely what she was sure of, they did not find out because all of a sudden there was a rumbling crackle and then explosions burst out all over the entryway filled with students going between class.

Pandemonium broke out as people ran screaming in every direction. Lily was swept up and flattened against the wall as students tried to retreat down the stairs. Immediately, she lost sight of Aurora and Di. Bracing herself against the onrush, she shoved her way forward, feeling around her bag for her wand.

Something wet and squishy burst over her, drenching her with water. Lily spluttered and coughed, trying to push her sopping hair from her eyes.

Overhead Peeves zoomed around, lobbing water balloons at the scrambling students. "Attack!" he shouted gleefully as he pelted balloons at two students who ran by with their bags held over their heads. "Attack!" Like popping buds, the older students performed the bubble-head charm to protect themselves from the onslaught.

"_Murabilis_," she cried, aiming her wand at the perpetrator of the chaos.

Crack! He slammed into an invisible wall, the balloons in his arms bursting all around him like a wet fireworks display. Eyes crossed and cursing, Peeves flew off toward the first floor.

The next moment, she was nearly deafened by a bang to her right. She rounded on the culprit only to find James standing beside her with his wand held aloft. He was likewise soaked, his fringe dripping onto his nose.

"Silence!" he bellowed, his magnified voice putting a halt to the pushing and shoving. "It was only Peeves. Get on to class. There's no attack."

Another round of firecrackers went off, but this time people ducked and screamed instead of running.

James moved in close to Lily. "Help me summon and extinguish them before we have another stampede on our hands."

With impressive speed, James summoned various bundles of explosives from wherever they'd been hidden and extinguished them before they could all go off. Lily followed his lead. As the noise makers disappeared, students slowly began to disperse. A buzz of excitement rose as people competed to explain exactly what they had thought had been going on.

Nearby a sobbing Ravenclaw first year with pigtails stood amidst her friends. Balloon shreds stuck in her hair, and she stood in a big puddle of water. "I want to go home," she wailed. "This place is horrid."

Lily rushed over to her while James sent the lingering students on their way. All at once, the three girls around her tried to explain what was wrong.

"Two pixies pinched her the other night! And tangled her hair."

"She's homesick for her cat."

"She got hit with three water balloons!"

Gently moving them aside, Lily conjured a cloth and used it to wipe the water from the Ravenclaw's round face and squeeze it from her hair.

The girl burst into another storm of sobbing. Lily gave up on drying her off and wrapped her arms around her.

"What class do you have next?" she asked one of the girls who looked as if she also had been caught in Peeves's crossfire.

"Potions."

"Right. Why don't you go along so you're not late. Tell Professor Slughorn that Lily will bring your friend soon."

Three heads bobbed in unison before the girls scurried off, leaving Lily and the sobbing Ravenclaw alone. Parchment, quills and balloon scraps littered the floor of the entryway. At the main stairwell, James was explaining the uproar to a stern looking Professor McGonagall and a faintly amused Professor Dumbledore.

Turning her attention back to the girl in the crook of her arm, Lily gently tapped each of her shoulders with her wand so that her robes dried out and fell into place as if newly ironed.

Dry clothes seemed to soften some of the sobs. Encouraged, she guided the first year toward the entrance to the dungeons. A small arm slid around her waist as they walked, and Lily pulled her closer.

"Is this your first year?" she asked conversationally.

"Yes." Well, words were a good sign. "I've never been away from home for so long."

Lily readjusted her bag on her shoulder. "Is that what's upset you?"

"It's just, everything!" The girl whimpered as if on the verge of another outburst. Instead, she dragged the sleeves of her robe over her face and took in a shuddering breath. "I don't know anything about magic, and everyone seems to know so much. And there're so many mean things here like pictures that whisper and stare at you, pixies and that flying man."

Lily stopped at the foot of the stairs. They were just around the corner from the Potions room. She could hear the class ooohing. No doubt Professor Slughorn was giving them the same demonstration he had her first year—a coating potion that temporarily turned whatever you dipped into it to gold.

"Are you a Muggle-born?"

The girl nodded, her wet pigtails dragging across her shoulders.

"I am too. I felt just as lost as you at first, but it gets better, I promise," said Lily. She smiled. "My name's Lily, by the way."

"I'm Elspeth."

"It's been very nice to meet you, Elspeth. Now, I believe you're missing the best Potions class of the year. But if you ever need me, I'm in Gryffindor."

Elspeth nodded, releasing her first smile. "You're Muggle-born, and Head Girl?"

"Of course! We Muggle-borns are just as talented as the next witch or wizard." Lily gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "There are many extraordinary things in the magical world. Don't just pay attention to the bad. And try talking to the portraits. No one likes being ignored."

Before Elspeth could say anything more, Lily moved her along toward the classroom.

She was lost in her own thoughts as she passed Filch who had already gone to work sweeping up the debris from the Front Hall and muttering about wringing Peeves's neck if he ever got his hands on him.

Being Muggle-born at Hogwarts, especially at this time, wasn't particularly easy. She had always felt a need to prove herself and her magical abilities, not so much to the professors, but to her peers. Severus had said it wouldn't matter that she was Muggle-born. At first, she had thought it wouldn't matter to anyone, but she soon learned that it did. Her faith in him had only deepened when she discovered this. Instead of thinking that he had lied when he said no one would care, she had believed that he meant it didn't matter to him, even if it did to others. But, in the end, it had meant something to him too. Poor Elspeth. She probably already felt enough like an outsider without students making it clear that to be Muggle-born was to be inhibited. Well, Lily would do as much as she could to squash that sentiment. Just what, she wasn't quite sure yet.

Lily rubbed her temples as she headed toward the Gryffindor tower to change her clothes, dry her hair and see how much damage Peeves's dousing had done to the contents of her bag. It was the first day of term, and Peeves had already managed to wreak havoc, she was stuck with Sirius Black for a Potions partner, and Aurora kept insisting they were in the eye of a storm. She could only hope that things did not get any worse than they already were. But a nagging feeling told her, she may be wishing for things to be like this in a little while.


	5. Chapter 5: The New Professor

Hogwarts had been abuzz about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's beauty and after several days of anticipation, James was, for once, looking forward to the class. So much so that he made sure to leave the Gryffindor tower a little early so that he could get a front row seat.

He shoved his potions book into his bag. They were two days into school and Cressida, his potions partner, had already been at him about working on their project. Not that he didn't want to get started on it, but his evenings had been consumed with sending Peter into the Slytherin dungeon, hoping to hear any plans Voldemort may have for Lily. So far all Peter had turned up with was a bunch of complaints about how Muggleb-borns didn't behave properly toward their Pureblood betters. Knowing what they were saying about some of their classmates, made James sick to his stomach. More than once he'd wanted to throw a couple of punches at Nott, Rosier, Mulciber, and Avery as they passed him in the hall, but he satisfied himself by overturning their inkwells or reorganizing the pages of their books for the moment.

Only his desire to keep on Lily's good side prevented him from sending a hex or two in Snivellus' direction. She had finally gotten over being friends with the git, but he suspected that she still would take Severus' side in a confrontation.

James cast one last look around the common room. He hadn't seen his fellow Marauders all day. Well, if they wanted to give up good seats for whatever games they were up to, that wasn't his problem. He slung his bag onto his shoulder and headed out through the portrait hole.

"And where'd you think you were going without us?"

James froze, only several steps outside of the Fat Lady. Sirius peeled himself away from the wall and sauntered toward him, Remus and Peter at his sides.

"Didn't think you were going anywhere without us, did you?" added Remus.

Peter's glistening eyes were James's only warning. His watery blue gaze always teared up when he was trying to hold in laughter. James threw himself forward as a series of explosions banged over his head. From the smell of it, the Marauders had set a stink trap for him.

"Wormtail!" Sirius rounded on the smallest Marauder. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," whined Peter. "He guessed."

Slightly winded, James rolled onto his back. A layer of mucus green haze hung between him and his friends. Anyone trapped in it would have had a hard time getting the smell of skunk off of himself. "Nice try, Padfoot," he huffed.

Sirius grinned and lazily waved away the cloud with his wand. "You can thank Moony for that one. He's the one who guessed you'd try to get to a prime seat without us."

"And after all these years of friendship." Remus's smile lightened the dark circles beneath his eyes. He reached down a hand to help his friend up.

A bubbling chuckle rose from the back of the corridor. A laugh that quickened the pace of James's heart, as indifferent as he had tried to be toward it over the past few days. Lily appeared just behind Remus, her eyes moon-shaped with mirth.

"So even among the Marauders it's survival of the fittest when it comes to getting Professor Harker's attention?"

James brushed aside Remus's hand and got to his feet on his own. "Did we have Head business, Lily?"

Her eyebrows rose and her hand went immediately to her bag, reaching for her green appointment book, no doubt. "No, not that I know of."

"Then we'll be on our way."

Even he could hear the frost in his voice. Before he could change his mind and smooth it over, James pivoted and started down the corridor, but not before he saw her face fall, the laughter stilled around her mouth. Her almond-shaped green eyes were wide now.

Sirius and Remus joined him immediately. The former ruffled James's hair and looped an arm over his shoulders. But James could feel the disapproval emanating off of his other friend.

"Prongs?" Peter had hesitated behind them.

"Come on, Wormtail. We won't save you a spot," James called over his shoulder.

He should feel triumphant, vindicated, or something. Finally, he was giving Lily Evans as good as she gave. Instead, the image of the laughter dying in her face gnawed at him.

"Good on you," Sirius crowed as soon as they were well out of earshot. "Did you see her face? You'll have her wrapped around your finger in no time, mate. Ignoring them-it works. Promise."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Unfortunately, that's all too true for you. But Prongs, this is Lily. Being rude isn't going to win you any points with her."

"She hasn't really given me a choice, though, has she?" snapped James, rankled by the truth in his friend's advice.

"I hate to break it to you, James, but you're not the only guy in her life."

Both Sirius and James stopped short. Sirius's arm was still slung over his friend's shoulders as they stared open-mouthed at Moony.

"Do I need to clean my ears out, Remus?" Sirius growled.

"As if I need the reminder, Moony." Again James's voice came out cooler than he intended.

Their sandy-haired friend ducked his head. "I meant what I said, James. You're not going to win her by treating her like any other girl."

Shoulders hunched against their stares, he hurried away.

Peter's pale hair flopped over his forehead as he looked between Remus's retreating back and his two friends joined at the hip. Sensitized by his condition, Remus was always the most willing, and usually the only one, to express any dissent to his friends' plans. But he had never walked away like this. He'd never turned his back on them.

"Load of bull. You'll get Lily for sure," Peter piped up.

James frowned at Peter, impatient with his tendency to take the side he thought most likely to win the argument. Wormtail's support made it only clearer that Remus was right. He shook off Sirius's arm. "Moony's got a point," he said firmly and jogged to catch up with him, leaving two of his friends looking after him, bewildered.

"Have you always been the voice of reason in this group?" James asked as he matched pace with his friend. "Or is this something new?"

Remus smiled up at him appreciatively. "I'm told I'm the sanest."

James grinned. "You're too modest, Moony."

The four of them arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom slightly ahead of their peers and claimed the front seats. Not that they needed to have worried. One look from James and Sirius and anyone would have vacated their chairs for them. Sirius took his usual place by James but said nothing to his friend. Peter, unsure how to navigate the tension, remained quiet.

Although he'd stood up for Remus, James didn't want to apologize to Lily just yet. Even Moony had acknowledged that ignoring girls helped. He'd apologize later. But for now, he had to pretend that he was too busy to talk to her when she came in.

Sirius was usually the best person for this task, but he was not very forthcoming after the discussion in the corridor. Remus would try to make him apologize to Lily immediately. And Wormtail would try to include Sirius in whatever banter he started up.

James was on the verge of reading their textbook, _Confronting the Faceless_, when the answer to his challenge stepped through the door.

Perfect! he thought on catching sight of his potions partner as she preceded her friends into the room. Cressida. She was one of the prettiest Ravenclaws in their year. Tall and willowy, she wore her waves of dark brown hair loose down her back. Her large gray eyes were flecked with blue and shifted color depending on the light.

Not that he'd noticed that himself. Padfoot had had a thing for Cressida second year, and she had been all he could talk about for a few months. James had kept a couple of his best friend's love notes to her in case he ever needed them for blackmail.

"Hey!" he called, waving her over.

She raised her eyebrows, and he nodded. Her two friends' eyes narrowed and immediately they began to whisper to one another.

Cressida sauntered over. "Front seat view, Potter?"

He smirked. "Only the best."

"Wouldn't expect anything less. But I hope you've finally taken an interest in our Potions project."

"Why do you think I called you over?"

She didn't answer right away. Instead, she leaned in closer and shrugged. He could smell her lavender perfume. Something about it made his mind slightly fuzzy. Or maybe it was because his gaze was now level with her well-endowed chest. He leaned away to look up at her. "You're one for surprises," she said finally, "so I wouldn't put anything past you."

"Not this time," he forced a laugh. "When do we get started?"

"Preferably before you start entertaining us with your Quidditch prowess again."

That drew a genuine grin from him and Cressida laughed. She laughed through her nose with her head tilted to the side. James was reminded of a sphinx.

"Tomorrow night then," he said. "Library, after dinner. I have two hours before Quidditch trials."

"Why not tonight? You don't have trials tonight."

He didn't. But tonight was his last chance to send Peter into the Slytherin dungeon himself. If tonight revealed nothing, he'd have to turn everything over to Padfoot when Quidditch started.

"He's booked already," Sirius said smoothly when James took too long to answer.

"And what are the Marauders up to now?" Cressida wanted to know, looking between the four of them.

A sharp voice cut off her inquiry. "Take your seats."

Cressida tossed her hair. "Tomorrow night," she whispered as she retreated. James drew in a breath.

And lost it again when he turned his attention to the front of the classroom. Professor Harker had to be the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Long lashes framed her large, light eyes. Dark, shining tresses tumbled over her shoulders and gold pins restrained them from falling over her high forehead. Bronze tints shimmered through her hair. Her straight nose curved in slightly flared nostrils and her full lips were a deep rose color. She was taller than Sirius, who had to be one of the tallest in the room.

Beneath her willowy stature, he could sense a deadly edge. Her long fingers, which gripped her wand, were steady and tense. For the first time, he understood what people meant by terrible beauty. She was not one to cross.

If the rumors were true, she had fought in the Great War, as his father had, but she hardly appeared a day over thirty.

There was a collective intake of breath, even among the girls. Sirius whistled under his breath, so low, only James could hear.

"You won't have any need for your books today." Her voice was soft but carried as if she were speaking to each of them individually. "Today, you begin perfecting the art of dueling. If you could set your bags at the front of the classroom."

There was a scramble to do as she asked. As soon as everyone was clear of the desks, she whisked them aside with a flick of her wand and strode to the middle of the room.

"I am Professor Harker," she began, speaking over the whispers. "Professor Dumbledore has asked that I give you both practical and theoretical work in this class." She began to pace in a wide circle, her garnet robes billowing slightly at her feet. "Only some of you will need to engage with your theoretical work after Hogwarts. But all of you, especially in these times, will use what practical things I teach you. And for this, I demand your full attention."

She had no need to give the command. Their eyes were glued to her majestic figure; they soaked in every word she spoke. She instructed them on the rules of engagement and basic strategies for dueling.

"But," her voice rose, "all of these will be irrelevant when you are dueling for your life. You must think on your feet. Surprise your opponent. To be predictable is to perish. To hesitate is to perish. To doubt is to perish. Understand?"

A Hufflepuff raised his hand. Professor Harker arched an eyebrow to call on him. "Professor, isn't this space too small to duel in?"

"Name?"

The Hufflepuff blanched. "Sorry?"

"What's your name?"

"Michael. Michael Bassett."

"Mr. Bassett, do you think the Death Eaters will be giving you an arena?"

The class stiffened as one. None of them could remember any of their professors explicitly referencing Voldemort's rise to power. Always it was "in case you need this" or "in these times" but never had anyone directly mentioned the Dark Lord's disciples or encountering them.

James glanced at the Slytherin's. Most of them carefully avoided Professor Harker's gaze or took a step or two away from her. His eyes met Snape's, whose face drew down into a scowl. Reflexively, James's fingers tightened on his wand, hoping that if they were going to duel in class, he'd be paired with that sniveling coward. James smirked and lifted an eyebrow, inviting Snape try to best him. He'd enjoy a reason to put the bastard in his place.

"Dueling is not about flailing or big flourishes," Professor Harker was saying. "It is about accuracy and precision. It is about the grace of minimal movement. Now, volunteers?"

No one raised a hand. Peter shuffled behind his friends. He usually left any dueling to them.

"Mr. Potter." He nearly jumped when she called his name. "Your dueling skills are legendary at Hogwarts." The sarcasm in her voice was faint but enough to make him blush. "Step up as our first volunteer."

He must have taken too long to respond because someone or someones shoved him forward. Professor Harker waited only long enough for him to approach before she chose her next victim.

"Miss Evans."

Behind his bored expression, James struggled to swallow the panic pressing at his throat. How was he supposed to duel Lily when he had spent the last few nights trying to keep her safe?

Lily's face was set, her eyes lowere, as she came toward them. James blinked when she stopped next to their professor. Most of the girls, even Cressida, had looked plain or gaudy in their makeup once Professor Harker had entered the room. Next to hers, Lily's beauty should have paled. Instead, it flamed as if refusing to submit to their professor's power. James wet his suddenly dry lips.

"Everyone but our volunteers stand along either wall, " Professor Harker swept her arms out as if to push them back and like pieces in a chess game, the class moved at her command. James felt an urge to retreat with them.

"Mr. Potter and Miss Evans will demonstrate the etiquette of engagement," she announced. "But first, I will give them each individual instructions." She set her hand on James's shoulder and steered him away from Lily. Her grip was stronger than he could have anticipated.

"When I say go," she whispered, "you will attack Miss Evans as if this were a true duel. Do you understand?"

James stiffened. Attack Lily?

But her next words raised the hairs on the back of his neck. "Do not think that I have not heard of your infatuation with her. She is your greatest weakness, and we begin to overcome that today."

She left him with his hands clammy and went to Lily, holding a whispered conference with her. Her instructions to Lily were longer than his. His opponent's eyes widened as James's must have and her lips parted in protest. Professor Harker's reply was unintelligible but hard. Lily backed away and peered around at him. She looked almost, apologetic. He tensed.

Professor Harker swept out of the way. Facing each wall of students in turn, she let silvery wisps pour from the end of her wand. Ribbons of it flowed across the floor and furled over itself, rising into walls that isolated her and their peers from the two duelers.

"The wall should protect us from all but the most powerful spells and those will only shatter it but will do no harm to those watching."

Remus probed the protective wall with his wand.

"Duelers ready?"

James shifted his grip on his wand. Lily looked uncertain.  
>"Yes," he replied tersely. She only managed to nod.<p>

"When I say go—."

Light exploded from the tip of Lily's wand, its heat searing past as his cheek as he managed to stumble out of the way. A second flash exploded from her wand, and he only just threw up a shield, staggering back at the force of the spell's impact. It exploded his Protego spell.

So she'd been instructed to attack him unexpectedly and to do so powerfully. He dodged her third attack, and it bounced off the vitreous barrier. He ducked again.

"This is not duck and run, Potter." Professor Harker's voice was sharp. She was going to think him stupid if he didn't do anything soon.

And Lily seemed to have no qualms about attacking him. He sent ropes flying toward her, hoping to bind her and halt the duel, but they dissolved before they were halfway across the distance between them.

"Stop!"

Professor Harker's cry shattered the barrier. She strode forward, her purplish eyes searing, and she seemed to gain several inches so that he craned his neck up at her though they were the same height.

"Mr. Potter, what are you doing?" she hissed. Her pale cheeks were flushed. "That was pathetic."

"Professor," James ran a hand through his hair and glanced at Sirius for help. His friend shook his head and shrugged. Some help.

"I've heard many great things about you, Mr. Potter. But so far you've proved an idiot." The Slytherins snickered and jeered. She shot them a look, and they fell silent. Turning her attention back to James, she lowered her voice, "My instructions were to attack Miss Evans. She is your opponent." Their professor jabbed her finger at Lily on each word as if he were stupid. His temper flared.

"This is insane! You expect me to attack my classmate? As if we're playing for keeps? I'm not doing this. " James crossed his arms and returned her glare. He wondered if Dumbledore knew their professor was setting them on another. Either way, he didn't care if he got detention for this.

Professor Harker's chin jerked at the challenge and her lips curled from her teeth. For a moment, something almost feral passed over her face but disappeared as quickly as it had risen.

She lunged at him. James took a step back, but she grabbed his arm and put her lips to his ear. _Imperio_.

An intoxicated lightness washed over him, and James felt as if his feet had floated from the floor. The tension melted from his shoulders and buoyancy rose from his core. He felt so light. Anything was in his power.

"_Attack Miss Evans_." It was the most beautiful voice he'd ever heard. He would do anything to hear it again.

Professor Harker moved aside. There she was. Lily. He raised his wand.

"_Attack her_."

Lily took a step back, her green eyes searching his quizzically. "Potter?"

A small voice popped into the back of his head. _It's Lily. What are you doing?_

_ The voice said to attack her_, he argued back. Sweat pricked his forehead, flattening his fringe. His arm began to shake.

_ But it's Lily. Look at her._ He looked though it made his head hurt. She was wearing her hair down today. It framed her heart-shaped face and set off her delicate features, which had become creased with concern.

_"Attack!"_ the voice practically screamed.

James gritted his teeth. _But she hasn't done anything. _

_ "She wants to kill you."_ The voice was sweet. Coaxing.

_Doesn't she always want to kill me?_

Something shoved against his brain. His wand was in Lily's face now, and she was backpedaling across the room. His muscles tensed as he struggled against the voice in his head and the urge that pushed his feet forward.

_No. _

_ "Attack her. Now!"_

"James!"

Her breathless voice set off something in him.

_ No. No. NO. _"NO!" His shout sliced through the lightness. "NO!" He flung himself away. Several girls screamed as his spell flashed against the barrier sending sparks through the air. Pain shot through his right knee as he fell to the ground. His lungs were on fire, as if he hadn't been able to breathe. "No," he said, not quite sure whom he was speaking to.

Whispers spread around the classroom. A hand appeared in front of him and then Professor Harker's violet eyes.

"Very interesting, Potter. Just as I thought," she murmured.

"As you thought?" he yelled, his temper flaring as the weight of what he'd almost done crashed over him. He knocked her hand away. "I almost killed her!"

Professor Harker grabbed him by the collar and hauled him to his feet. She was stronger than she looked. "Don't be dramatic. I wouldn't have let that happen."

He shrugged her away and turned toward Lily. She was standing among her friends who touched her shoulders and face as if to make sure she was ok. They kept darting furious looks at him.

He didn't blame them this time.

He pivoted and marched toward the door. The class scrambled from his path as if he were about to turn his wand on them.

"10 points from Gryffindor if you go through that door, Mr, Potter."

"I've lost a lot more than that before for something _I _actually did," he flung back, not even bothering to look at her.

"Mr. Potter!"

James ignored her and stomped down the corridor. Sirius called after him but he kept going. He flung aside a tapestry in his way.

Forget Professor Harker's beauty. She was insane. She'd put him under the imperius curse. He felt sick remembering Lily's ashen face, the desperate confusion in her voice.

"Prongs!"

Sirius grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "What happened, mate?"

"She's off her rocker," James seethed.

"You barely know her!"

"She imperiused me."

Sirius's eyebrows flew into his fringe. "She what?"

"She tried to make me attack Lily. Under the imperius curse." James ran a hand through his hair.

"Bloody hell!"

"Exactly."

"You broke an imperius curse?"

"That's not the point!" he shoved his friend.

Unabashed, Sirius shook his shaggy head and laughed. "Well, nothing happened, right?"

James grabbed friend's shoulders and spoke slowly. Sometimes getting things through Sirius' head was like trying to teach a troll manners. "Padfoot, she put an Unforgivable curse on a _student_."

Sirius brushed his hands off and rolled his shoulders to fix his robes. "Well, it was all part of the set up, wasn't it?"

"No," James felt some of his anger begin to ebb. "It's about Lily."

His friend's gray eyes glinted mischievously and his grin nearly cracked his face. "What about her?"

Before he could answer, the tapestry jerked aside and the subject of their conversation nearly bowled into them. James threw up his hands to fend off her familiar wrath.

To his surprise, she stopped short, her wand nowhere in sight. "Are you all right?"

"It's not his fault," Sirius jumped in while James gaped at her. He'd braced himself for yelling or hexing, not for the lines of worry on her face.

Lily waved him aside impatiently. "I know it's not his fault. Pot—James, what did she do to you?"

"She tried to make me attack you."

Her eyes widened. "How?"

"The imperius curse."

"But that's illegal!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Does she look like she follows the rules?"

Lily rounded on him and snapped her fingers into a fist. "Black, we don't need a peanut gallery."

"A what gallery?" James and Sirius asked in unison.

She snorted with exasperation. "It means you can stop with the side commentary. Potter, this is serious!"

James squawked in protest. "Why are you telling me? He's the one turning this into a joke. Why do you think I left?"

"Hey, I'm just balancing you out," drawled Sirius. "Really, you two are—," he trailed off and started to back away.

Lily's wand finally had made an appearance as the pink in her cheeks flushed across the rest of her face.

"Do you ever take anything seriously, Black?" she snapped, advancing on him.

Grateful as he was that her wand was, for once, pointed at someone else, James leapt in between the two of them.

"Look, let's just calm down," he urged. An unfamiliar franetic

"Isn't that what I've been saying all along?" Sirius protested but shut up when Lily audibly sucked in her breath. "Right. I'll leave you to it then."

He continued to edge toward the tapestry, keeping his eyes on Lily. He was almost through it before he called over his shoulder, "You know everyone's going to think you're snogging if I come back without you."

He cackled as he ducked behind the cloth, narrowly missing Lily's hex.

"And I bet he'll tell everyone that's just what we're doing. Sometimes," she scowled and shook her head before tucking her wand back into her robes.

"He makes you forget you're supposed to be responsible?"

Lily's mouth curved in appreciation. "Exactly."

Her features relaxed though a worry dent remained above the bridge of her slightly upturned nose. The summer had left a smattering of freckles across her nose and added pink to her cheeks. She tucked her hair behind her ear and toyed with the hem of her sleeve.

James adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat, suddenly at a loss for words now that he was standing alone with Lily in an empty corridor. He was uncomfortably aware of how many dreams of his had begun like this only to end in a way he was pretty sure Lily would and should slap him for if she knew what images he was trying to keep from popping into his head at the moment.

He cleared his throat again. "Are you okay?" he managed.

"Yes. Thanks for not attacking me."

"Look, I'm really sorry. About, you know, everything."

She laid a hand on his arm. "It's not your fault. I'm just glad nothing happened."

"Well, my parents will be proud, knowing their lessons in chivalry stuck."

"It must take a lot more than chivalry to throw off an Imperius curse," she said quietly, her chin raised thoughtfully.

A question was forming in her head. He could see it in her squinting eyes and slightly parted lips. Not wanting to tell her what Professor Harker had told him, he stepped around her and pulled aside the tapestry with a slight bow.

"We'd better get back to class. Did she mention deducting points by the minute or the hour? Or did I pay a flat fee when I walked out?"

"I think it was just the 10 points."

"And how many did you cost us coming after me?" he asked, following her through.

"None. She sent me. She said she didn't want you loose in the corridors," Lily told him with a chuckle.

"She seems to expect the worst of me," James complained. "It's like Filch is the only one she's talked to."

"No, she would've locked you in the dungeons if that were the case."

"Maybe I should refer her to Peeves."

"He just staged a water balloon ambush on the student population. You think that's going to boost your credibility?"

"Right. Maybe not then. Who else?"

"The Grey Lady," Lily said slyly. "She seemed to have a soft spot for you."

James blushed. "That was a misunderstanding," he mumbled. Back in fourth year, he and Sirius had nearly been caught out of bed while charming the classroom doorplates to sing. Ending up in a dead end corridor as they ran from Filch, they were sure the caretaker would catch them when she had appeared and led them into a passageway. They had all laughed as they listened to the caretaker cursing and kicking the wall. For the next few weeks, the Grey Lady had shyly waved at them every time they passed her. Which seemed to be pretty frequent, considering she usually kept to the Ravenclaw tower area. One afternoon, Remus had whistled as she glided past the Marauders and the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors had taken up the joke.

Lily laughed. "Misunderstanding or no, I'm sure she's likely to speak in your favor."

Thrilling at their congenial laughter, James forgot that he was supposed to be giving Lily the cold shoulder until he opened the door of the Defence Against the Dark Arts for her.

The common room had emptied long ago. A breeze issued from the windows, wafting away the scent of charred leather, cloth, and wood. Since the Marauders' second year, it had been a tradition for the second years to trick the first years into swallowing peppermint imps and unleashing streams of fire on the common room. Tonight, one of the first years had burnt a hole through one of the sofas to the cheers of half the common room. James had purposely disappeared just before it happened, not having the heart to punish the Gryffindors for a tradition he had started. To his surprise, Lily apparently hadn't appeared either and when she did turn up later, she did nothing but open the windows.

Suspicious of her nonchalance, he had kept an eye on her, waiting for whatever repercussions she would be sure to take out on them instead of the second years. When she had caught him watching her, she shrugged. "It was sagging anyway."

Like the flash of a falling star, a rare smile, meant for him, crossed her face and then disappeared before she hurried upstairs after her friends. He had been too surprised to return the smile.

And then he had gone and blown any camaraderie they had shared in that moment. Shortly after supper, he had received a note from Professor McGonagall saying that she had been able to secure the quidditch field for the night. Despite the rain, he had called an impromptu practice for all former players. They couldn't practice enough before the season began. Gryffindor had won the House cup every year he had been at Hogwarts, and he planned to continue that tradition.

The team had grumbled and complained all through practice, and it had worked him to the last ounce of his patience. When Lily had stopped him on his way upstairs, he'd been tired, wet, and hiding a stash of food from the kitchens under his uniform.

Of course, he never actually stole food from the kitchens. The house elves practically forced it upon him. But everyone else thought he did, and when he and Sirius had discovered how much this boosted their popularity, they said nothing to set the record straight. Which meant that if Lily knew about the bundle of sweets stashed beneath his arm, she was going to think he was slipping back to his old ways. And he had worked too hard to prove that he was not that person to give her any doubts now.

So he had done what every guilty person should do in a bind. He had put the accusation in her mouth and then refuted it. His anger had surprised her. And himself. Actual resentment had broken through the ruse.

After years of antagonizing her, James had not been in the best position to earn Lily's friendship—he knew that. But ever since she had accused him of being as bad as Severus Snape, he had worked hard to change. He no longer ruffled his hair for the girls or tossed about hexes just for the fun of it. Pranks during class had been kept to a minimum, and he had started to contribute positively to lessons instead of disrupting them to get a laugh out of his fellow students.

Everyone else seemed to see the change. His professors had lost the exasperated edge in their voices when they spoke to him. Filch shadowed him for months, convinced that his restraint meant that the Marauders were about to launch the prank of a lifetime. Professor McGonagall overlooked several eligible seventh years to make him captain of the Quidditch team in his sixth year. First, second, and third years had stopped scattering like startled rabbits when he walked into a room. But Dumbledore had to make him Head Boy for Lily Evans to start noticing that he wasn't still the arrogant toerag and bully she had accused him of being.

Although he knew her distrust was warranted, it hurt. Lily was the type of person who saw the best in others. When people had called Remus strange behind his back, she had stood by him. She had been one of the few people always willing to partner with Peter in class, no matter how many times she had had to do extra work to make up for his mistakes. And, she had stood by Snape long after everyone else knew he was practically steeped in the dark arts.

It seemed that there was no one that Lily would not stand up for, except for him. He wasn't even sure he had swayed her opinion now. She probably saw tolerating him as part of her Head duties.

But she had jumped to his defense during Defense Against the Dark Arts. Maybe she had been coming around.

James set down his quill and ran a hand over his face. Well, whatever progress he had made was gone after his go at her tonight. She was probably relieved that he had resolved not to talk to her. It was one less Head Girl duty she had to fulfill.

Great. He had just made protecting Lily that much harder. How was he supposed to keep her safe when he couldn't even talk to her?

Recalled to the reason he was waiting up long after he would have gone to bed, he checked his watch. It had been seven hours since Peter had scampered into the Slytherin dungeons after supper. Remus had given up waiting and gone to bed. Sirius slumped over his book, cheek down, snoring faintly.

James pulled the Marauder's Map toward him and tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," he whispered. Spider-like tendrils spread across the parchment, revealing the passageways, corridors, and rooms of Hogwarts. He scanned the dungeons. There was no sign of Peter. He looked again, but Wormtail's marker wasn't there.

Hoping that meant that his friend was on his way back, he stood up and stretched, taking a break from writing. Professer Harker had assigned them an essay on conjuring dark spells. She insisted that they had to understand darkness to counter it, but he had a feeling she was only giving the baby Death Eaters some very bad ideas. That is, if she wasn't already working with them. She was starting to leave a bad taste in his mouth.

Just then, the portrait hole swung open and Peter tumbled through with a grunt. James turned in time to see his friend scramble to his feet.

"Mrs. Norris nearly caught me. As a rat," he panted, trying to hold his torn robes together as he staggered toward the table.

"How many times do we have to tell you not to come out in the sixth floor corridor?" groaned Sirius without opening his eyes.

"I lost count," huffed Peter. He joined them at the table. His robes gaped open at the neck. "I thought I was a floor above."

James reached down and pulled the bundle of sweets from his bag. He passed it over to Wormtail who fumbled it open and gave a cry of excitement before helping himself to two of the pumpkin pasties that the kitchen house elves had given James. Sirius clawed up a jelly tart and shoved it into his mouth.

As impatient as he was to hear whether Wormtail had any news, he knew their Slytherin spy would be much more talkative once he had some food on his stomach, especially after his scare. He had already packed up his bag by the time Wormtail and Padfoot managed to pick the last crumb from the cloth.

Sirius scooped up a shoe as they entered their room and chucked it at Remus's bed. "Wake up, sleepyhead. Wormtail's back," he called.

Peter, who was just behind Sirius, got the brunt of Remus's retaliation as Sirius launched himself onto James's bed. Wormtail's squeal was lost in the pillow Remus slammed full force into his face.

"Oops, sorry, about that," panted Moony as he picked up another pillow missile, this time aiming for Sirius who was cackling on his own bed, safely out of range.

"Knock it off," snapped James, yanking the pillow out of Peter's fists before his friends erupted in another pillow fight. "What did you find out, Wormtail?"

Peter crossed his arms petulantly and turned up his pointed nose. "I spend all night with the Slytherins , nearly get caught by Mrs. Norris, and this is what I get?"

"We got you a load of food," retorted Sirius.

"Which you ate half of!"

"I'll get you more later, Wormtail, if you want," James promised. "Just, did you hear anything?"

"Actually, I did." A note of discontent lingered in his voice. He readjusted his robes to hold the torn pieces of the sleeve and shoulder together.

"Well?" prompted Remus.

Peter rarely had their full attention and even less rarely knew something that his friends didn't. Savoring the moment, he went to his bed and perched on its end. His watery eyes swept the room.

Sirius grunted impatiently, pushing him to speak. "I overheard Mulciber and Avery. They were talking about Defence Against the Dark Arts today." He looked over at James.

"What about it," he asked tersely.

"They think Professor Harker is here to help fortify Hogwarts' defenses."

"Is that all?" James was disappointed at Peter's revelation. Anyone could see Professor Harker was here to make someone think twice about infiltrating the school if they were stupid enough to think that they could take on Professor Dumbledore.

Peter shook his head. "They talked about you." The smugness was beginning to fade from his face. "About how you wouldn't hurt Lily today."

Wormtail suddenly turned white. He kicked his feet back and forth as he stared down at the floor.

"What else did they say?" Remus asked gently, moving forward on his knees.

Peter sniffled. "I don't know if this means anything," he hedged.

A tightening around his heart told James that what Wormtail had learned had nothing to do with Lily and everything to do with him. His pulse throbbed as it did in the moments when he noticed a bludger too late.

Sirius snorted impatiently. "We won't know unless you tell us."

"Mind you, it was just talk." Peter was stalling. His eyes darted around among each of them as if looking for a way out as they edged closer. "Everyone knows Mulciber has a few bones to pick."

"Was it about me, Peter?" James asked quietly.

Peter nodded miserably.

"What did they say?"

Their friend blinked up at the ceiling a few times before he spoke. "You're the one You-Know-Who should be after. The rest of us are just a route to you."

"Stunning insight for an oaf," Sirius spat, breaking the silence Peter's revelation had drawn over the room.

"It wasn't Mulciber," Peter blurted and then winced, as if he hadn't meant to speak.

Sirius tensed. "Who was it then?"

"Your brother."

Pain flashed across Sirius's face for a second and then it was gone, replaced by the haughty indifference that was more of a family trait than a singular expression. "Git." He fell back on his bed and the curtains jumped closed around him.

Remus and James exchanged a look. There was no use trying to talk to Sirius right now. All they would get was an ear load of curses against his family. In silence, the other boys got ready for bed.

Peter kept darting glances over at James, as if he wanted to talk, but the latter studiously ignored him until he was sheltered behind the curtains of his four-poster bed.

James was pretty sure Regulus Black was too junior to have Voldemort's ear but if Sirius' brother were only repeating something he had overheard, everyone James cared about was in a lot of danger. Lily would be just the tip of the iceberg.

Amidst his tossing and turning, kicking his sheets off and pulling them up again, James realized that there was little he could do to protect his friends other than to keep them close. Sirius would be a target whether he were friends with James or not and without James and Sirius, Remus and Peter would be left without anyone to stand by them.

But he could still protect Lily. As much as he hated to admit it, Professor Harker was right. Lily was a weakness he had to overcome. Now he understood what his father had been warning him of when he boarded the train. Voldemort didn't want Lily for her talent. Nor did he want her because she had been Snape's friend. He wanted her as a tool to manipulate James.

James stopped tossing. An idea was taking shape at the back of his mind. He waited, unmoving, as it slowly gained shape. It arrived in a burst of realization that turned him cold.

Voldemort wasn't going to attack Hogwarts or plant Death Eaters among them to take over from within. That would win him few voluntary supporters. But convincing one of the most popular boys in school to play for his team would deal a devastating moral blow to the student body. It would force everyone to consider his or her allegiances. Having James, and possibly all of the Marauders, would rally those who supported the Dark Lord, sway the favor of those undecided, and shake those who would stand against him.

For several hours, James tried to hatch a plan in which he and Lily could become friends while she would be safe. But as the night wore away, he had to admit that the best thing to do was to stay as far away from her as possible. As a muggle-born, her life meant nothing to Voldemort. He would do anything to her if he thought it would bait James.

He could tell Professor McGonagall. After all, she had held him back after their first Head meeting to ask him to keep an eye on Lily. She would want to know about this.

James was out of bed and to the door before he stopped short. If he told Professor McGonagall that Lily was in danger because of him, she was not going to put restrictions on just Lily. The obvious course of action would be to minimize access to the Marauders. Every eye would be on him, Sirius, Remus, and Peter.

He looked over at Remus's sleeping form. The full moon was two weeks away and as always, they were supposed to accompany him for his transportation. But with every professor on the look out for a threat to the Marauders, sneaking out would be nearly impossible. He couldn't risk that scrutiny.

James retreated to his bed. Sitting near the edge, he drew his knees up to his chest. Telling Professor McGonagall was out of the question. He could not risk being prevented from joining Remus. His friend needed him, had come to depend on his support during his change.

No, he would just have to protect Lily himself.


	6. Chapter 6: Hot and Cold

As soon as Professor Harker released them, Lily jammed her books into her bag and wove her way through the jumble of desks to the door. James refused to tell Dumbledore what Professor Harker had done, but she was not going to let her get away with it.

She darted out of the classroom before James could detain her and hurried down the corridor. Aurora and Di caught up to her on the stairs.

"Did he hurt you?" panted Aurora, catching herself on the banister.

"I'm fine," insisted Lily, waiting for them to reach her at the foot. "I just need to see Professor McGonagall."

"You're not reporting him, are you?" demanded Di, bounding in front of her. "Look, Professor Harker probably told him to do it."

Aurora exhaled in protest. "He shouldn't have done it though!"

"He didn't," sighed Lily. "Professor Harker put the imperius curse on him."

Aurora gasped and Di scowled in disbelief. As Lily had expected her friends burst out in wave of questions, none of which she had the answer to.

"Are you sure he was telling the truth?" Aurora asked carefully.

"Of course he was," snapped Di. "Right, Lily?"

Taller than most of her friends and athletic, Di had been one of James's fellow chasers since their third year. Although she usually took Lily's side against James, she was also the first to come to his defense or give him the benefit of the doubt.

"I believe him," she agreed.

Aurora's gray eyes swept from Di with her crossed arms to Lily whose lips were pursed with impatience. She pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes. "If she did use an Unforgiveable Curse, we have to tell Professor Dumbledore."

"That's where I'm going."

"Where's James?" Aurora wanted to know.

Lily hesitated, unsure if her friend would understand why James wanted to keep the incident a secret. "He wants her to do it again."

Both Di and Aurora looked incredulous. Their next question was written across their faces. Lily shrugged, not too sure of why he would want to undergo it again. He had insisted that learning how to break the curse was just one more defense against the Death Eaters. But his hazel eyes hadn't been able to meet hers, a sure sign there was more that he was not willing to share. As they had stood along the wall, watching their classmates frantically dueling one another, she had tried to leverage their camaraderie in the corridor to get him to tell, but he'd become cool and then left her to stand by that Ravenclaw girl, Cressida. Something unpleasant had unfurled in Lily's chest when the other girl had squealed and latched herself onto James's arm.

"It's Potter. He doesn't want to go down without a fight if it comes to that." She started off for Professor McGonagall's office again.  
>"Tell us what happens?" called Di.<p>

"Of course. I always do."

Professor Dumbledore heard Lily out. His expression remained neutral throughout her story, as if he were merely listening to a bit of friendly gossip instead of a report of a professor's criminal behavior. Only the slight rise of his eyebrows when she mentioned the curse suggested that he had not been anticipating what he heard. When she finished, he sat back in his chair. Behind his half moon spectacles, his eyes were slightly unfocused.

"The Imperius curse is known for its power," he mused finally. "For someone so young—Mr. Potter must have had a very good reason to break it."

"He was about to attack me," Lily pointed out.

"Many a person has turned on his own family, his own parents, wife, and children even, under the curse, Miss Evans. It is not easily shaken. Especially when cast by a witch as powerful as Professor Harker." A note of forced patience edged his words.

"She shouldn't have cast it then," Lily said firmly. Somehow this did not seem to be the answer he had anticipated or wanted. His eyebrows settled more firmly over his eyes and the corners of his mouth turned downward. She had the distinct feeling of giving a wrong answer in class.

"Perhaps not. Her curiosity certainly got the better of her."

Precisely what was Professor Harker curious about, she was wondering, when a flutter of red settled onto the backrest of his chair. Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, shifted from foot to foot, his neck craned forward and his head tilted, as if he were trying to peer past her exterior. She flushed, as if he were asking a very personal question. For a moment, Lily would not have been surprised if he spoke when he opened his beak. Instead, he let out a low trill.

"Indeed," murmured Dumbledore, his thoughts traveling elsewhere. A place that made his gaze inquisitive.

As brilliant as he was, Dumbledore sometimes reminded her of her grandmother who had begun to lose her memory before she died. From time to time, she too had lapsed into inattentive silences during which they all presumed she had lost track of the conversation, only to later rouse herself to ask a question that made it clear she had been well aware of her surroundings.

Dumbledore reached up to stroke Fawkes, who eagerly nestled his head into the headmaster's palm. "I am surprised you came alone. As one of the victims of this incident, I would have thought Mr. Potter would want to tell his story for himself."

She was on the verge of telling him that she thought James would ask Professor Harker to put him under the curse again. She snapped her lips shut. She had recognized the look of his determination on his face when he had alluded to the request. He voluntarily would be in the grips of the curse soon, if he had his way. And he was going to get it.

And now that she had told the Headmaster about their professor's idea of class work, it was likely Dumbledore was going to keep an eye on her. And if he knew about James, him too. Given his track record for rule-breaking, his Head Boy badge could be on the line if he were caught. And she was just getting used to the idea of him as Head Boy.

Lily smiled. "He figured that you knew already but agreed that I should just check in to make sure you were aware." Not entirely untrue. He had said something to that effect, athough Lily knew it was more to convince her to not go to Dumbledore more than his actual belief in the suggestion.

"And your Head duties have been going well?"

Caught off guard by the unexpected line of questioning, Lily agreed too hastily. He had an uncanny way of picking up on the threads of her thoughts.

Professor Dumbledore turned his penetrating gaze on her. "Some of your professors warned that your interactions with Mr. Potter would prohibit the success of your term as Head. Has that been the case?"

She assured him that James had been pulling his weight so far.

"Very good, Miss Evans. Thank you for notifying me of what happened in class today. I will be sure to impress upon Professor Harker that students should not be subjected to any illegal magic. I apologize, but you must excuse me for a meeting. My guests will be arriving shortly."

Lily sprang up and retrieved her bag from the side of her chair. "Of course. Thank you for your time, Professor."

The flames in the fireplace snapped, drawing both Dumbledore and Lily's attention. They flared green and a shape began to spin into focus. A flash of curiosity pinned Lily in place. It must have been this guests arrival that had preoccupied his thoughts during their meeting.

Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat. "If you have further things to discuss, you may find me later. I assume you know the password now?" His dismissal was friendly yet firm.

Lily flushed and stammered an excuse for herself before hurrying to the door. As she closed it behind her, a voice almost made her hand falter. Why was the former star of the Gryffindor quidditch team, Marlene McKinnon, arriving at Hogwarts through the headmaster's fireplace?

"Not guilty," James said coolly when she blocked his path to the boy's stairway later that evening. Quidditch practice had left him wet and muddy. A cold rain had begun during dinner and must have continued through training.

Stung by his gaze, which was as cold as he must be in his soaked robes, Lily uncrossed her arms to let him know that this wasn't a confrontation. His jaw only tightened.

"What do you want, Evans?" he snapped when she only stared at him.

That ignited her tongue. "No need to snap at me, _Potter_. I was merely going to ask a question." He, if anyone, would know what Marlene McKinnon was doing at Hogwarts. Or be able to find out.

"Then ask it."

"You don't have to be rude about it," she protested. Heads were beginning to turn. It had been a long time since the two of them had had a show down, and it was sure to be even better now that they were Head students. Everyone knew that the longer they tried to keep their anger under wraps, the better the explosion.

James put a muddy hand on Lily's shoulder. Sensing the attention in the room shifting to them, she allowed him to drive her into a corner. His broad shoulders shielded her from everyone's view.

She had never heard him speak so low without whispering. He was leaning in so close that she could see the shadow of his beard and the sharp green in his steady, hazel eyes. "I'm drenched. I've been flying in the rain for several hours with only the thought of slaughtering Slytherin and a warm shower pushing me through. Then I get back to the common room, and the first thing I see is you standing there, looking as if you're going to give me the third degree. The fact that I'm soaked and shivering doesn't even seem to have fazed you." As if to emphasize his point, a drop of water slipped from his fringe and tapped her nose.

Lily blinked up at him. But he wasn't finished. "Until you can stop treating me like the miscreant you seem to think I will always be, I don't really have much to say to you."

A weight settled over her when he lifted his hand from her shoulder and turned his back on her. She watched him trudge across the common room and disappear up the stairs. Her hand went to her cheek, as if he had struck her. Tears pricked her eyes, and she turned them toward the ceiling to hold the tears back. James had pranked her, yelled at her, teased her, but his words had never hurt as much as these had, and all the more so because he had turned his back on her for the first time.

"I just had a question," she muttered, but the point would have been just as moot if she had said it to him.

Heads quickly turned away when her eyes settled back on the common room. She shrugged and tucked her hair behind her ear. What did she care what James Potter thought? She tapped the corner of each eye to make sure none of the tears escaped.

Lily returned to her friends' table by the fire. Serra's blue eyes gleamed as she leaned forward. "That was intense," she said conspirationally.

The news of what had happened in Defense Against the Dark Arts had spread almost before the end of class. As Black had threatened, most of the class thought Lily and James had ended up snogging in the corridor. She suspected that if he had not started the rumor himself, he had at least encouraged it. By the time Lily had joined her friends for dinner, the word was that Lily and James were in a secret relationship. It had taken most of dinner to convince Serra that she had not been kept out of the loop on this huge development in Lily's life. But now that there was possible evidence (Serra always insisted that rumors began in truth) that something was going on, she was going to scrutinize every interaction between James and Lily. Considering their last interaction, James would soon lay all those rumors to rest.

"Nothing happened, Serra," Lily said impatiently. She preferred to let the conversation go.

"What were you asking him about, anyway?" Mary wanted to know.

Only Di and Aurora knew about her meeting with Dumbledore and Marlene

McKinnon's arrival. She had avoided telling her other two friends who often spoke first and thought later. If Dumbledore had asked a former student to enter Hogwarts by one of the most secret means possible, he wanted no one to know she was there. And if word got out, he would know exactly who had told.

"I just told him I thought Black had spread the rumor about us snogging. You know how they get when they think the other's being accused."

Serra's face fell. Lily was not sure what Mary had expected her answer to be, but either way, both seemed satisfied. Lily pulled her Charms book toward her and returned to taking notes, as if nothing in the exchange was worth losing any more study time over.

As soon as Serra and Mary returned to their work, Lily looked up. Aurora had said nothing during the exchange, but she was watching her friend now. Lily mouthed "later," and Aurora nodded.

Unfortunately, later was much later than she had anticipated. Trudy Winkleman, a small second year with bushy, dark hair, had come to her for Charms help, and she had spent the better of an hour and a half coaching Trudy on turning a cotton wad into a caterpillar.

At one in the morning, Lily set aside her Charms essay on visually activated charms and packed up her bag. She woke a first year who had fallen asleep in the corner and then headed up to bed herself.

Blue light hovering behind Aurora's curtains illuminated the room enough for Lily to put her things away and change into pajamas with no additional light. She tugged twice on her friend's curtains before letting herself in.

Aurora set aside her book and curled her feet up so Lily had space to sit in front of her. She cast a silencing charm around them as Lily settled in, and then waited for Lily to begin where she wanted.

Lily hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them. With homework finally set aside, she was just getting a chance to think through the events of the day. It seemed as if so much had happened in such a small amount of time. But without the formulaic demands of her essay, her mind was having a hard time keeping everything straight. Every thought came back to the expression of horror on James's after he'd broken Professor Harker's curse and then how close he had been in the common room. So close that she had felt the heat of his body even through his wet clothes.

Echoes of that heat crept into her cheeks now.

Aurora grew tired of waiting for Lily to speak. "Did you ask Potter about Marlene?"

"He didn't give me a chance. "

"From what I saw, he said a lot more than 'I don't know.'"

"Did I look confrontational when I approached him?" The question had been tugging at the back of her mind all night.

Aurora sat back into her pillows. Shadows softened her angular features and dimmed her eyes. "Did he say that?"

Lily nodded and let one of her hands fall to the bed. "He accused me of thinking that he was a miscreant. That was his word. He said that he doesn't want to talk until I can see him as something other than a troublemaker." Her fingers pinched Aurora's duvet into puckered circles while she waited for her friend to respond.

An open window admitted a breeze that tickled the curtains around them. Beyond the enclosed bed, Mary coughed in her sleep. Inside, Aurora said nothing. She wound a lock of her hair around and around between her two fingers, over and over.

Lily waited tensely in the silence. Not a clue to the direction of her friend's thoughts revealed itself in Aurora's thoughtful expression. Thinking back to when she had first seen him, she tried to remember how she had been standing. The only reason she recalled having her arms crossed was Potter had mentioned it. He had noticed that. If it hadn't been for him, she wouldn't even remember what she'd been doing or how she'd stood. He was the one assuming she was always coming after him!

At last, Aurora let her hair fall back to her shoulder and splayed her hands out on the duvet. "Why have you never given James the chances that you gave Sna—Severus?" she asked quietly.

A deluge of protests swept to her lips. James was a git from the start. Arrogant, spoiled, and self-centered, he had little regard for others' feelings. He felt he reigned the school, perhaps even the world, skating by on his charm and innate intelligence, propping up his superiority on stilts of bullying, showing off, and reckless Quidditch feats. Girls were nothing to him but fans to stroke his ego and assert his position at the top of the Hogwart's pyramid.

Severus had grown up with parents who didn't love him, no friends, and only a flickering hope that fully joining the magical world would ameliorate all the pain of his childhood. But it had only followed him to school, thanks in large part to Potter and Black, where he had been repeatedly humiliated, belittled, and ostracized. No one else but Lily had seen the boy in the clearing who clung to her hand as if he stood on the brink of a precipice and showed her that there could be the brightest light in those eyes so familiar with darkness.

But Aurora had not asked about the boys she first knew. The words faltered on Lily's tongue. She would not pretend to misinterpret Aurora's question. She had been asked about the mistakes they had grown from.

The protests shriveled in her mouth.

"You were going to repeat all the things we've heard before, Lily," continued Aurora. "Things you've said so many times, Di can finish your sentences for you. You wanted us to overlook Severus's faults because he had been poor, abused, and ostracized growing up. You kept holding out for some good that only you seemed to believe existed. And when you came at James, who could stop you? He certainly needed to be taken down a peg, and you were the only one who did not care enough about what everyone else thought to let that stop you."

Her friend's words were summoning her mother's warning from her last night at home. People couldn't change for the better if you didn't let them. How many times had she used that very phrase to defend Severus when he was rude to her friends or made her cry?

"I thought we were making progress." She told Aurora about James's hot and cold behavior over the past few days. "He's probably going after that Ravenclaw anyway," Lily concluded wearily. "So what does it matter? She's been flinging herself at him since she pulled his name out of the hat in Potions. Potter and I can go back to non-speaking terms."

Tiredness overcame her—it had been a long day. Thanks to Potter, that curse had almost taken a few fingers, her head, or who knows what else. Late night talks with Aurora were usually rejuvenating, but this one had left her with an edge. Of sadness? Loneliness? She couldn't quite place the feeling of loss inside her. Memories of her father rushed over her. She hugged herself again and buried her face in her knees, staving off the familiar ache that accompanied such forceful recollections of his face, the smell of soap on his collar.

Briefly the mattress dipped and rolled beneath her before an arm slid around her, and Aurora's head gently leaned against her own.

"I'm sure it will just take time," Aurora murmured running her fingers over Lily's hair. "There's a lot stacked up between the two of you. It's not all going to go away overnight."

Tears were clogging Lily's throat.

"Lily?"

Her voice was gone. Lost to the grief straining at her throat. She tried to breathe out against her pajama pants and the heat of her breath stung her nose. It had been a year and three months since the last time she had cried like this for her father. The longest stretch since he had died.

She squeezed her knees tighter, willing herself to come back together. Eyes squeezed against the tears, she raised her head enough to let more air in. She would hold together.

It's not about Dad, it's not about Dad, she chanted in her head. He couldn't make it better. Nothing would be different if he were here.

Nothing would be different if he were here. She let out a rattling breath. She tried again, and it was stronger this time. Mary coughed in her sleep.

Aurora held her closer.

The mystery of Marlene McKinnon would have to wait for tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7: Friends Weigh In

A cold face wash and a bit of makeup the next morning went a long way toward concealing the puffiness in her cheeks. To her dismay, there was little she could do about the redness in her eyes or the swollen pouches beneath them but hope that it cleared up soon. Satisfied that she had hidden the evidence of her tears the night before as best she could, Lily headed down to the common room to wait for Aurora and Di pack up their things for the day.

The cozy room was deserted. Everyone was at breakfast already as Lily and Aurora had slept in, and Di had to shower after an early morning Quidditch practice. Lily found the quiet welcome, especially after the raucous evenings when it was filled with the latest Marauder imitators, the Marauders themselves, and students wanting to unwind and socialize.

That was, almost everyone was at breakfast. Across the room, a single occupant stood before the fireplace. Even facing away from her, his silver laced hair was recognizable in the soft morning light. Despite the morning's warmth, a full fire roared in the grate in front of him.

"Good morning, Remus."

At the sound of her voice, his shoulders went rigid and his fist closed around a piece of parchment in his hand. Lily started to apologize for startling him, but he waved it off as he turned toward her.

"I thought you were James or Sirius at first," he told her, giving her a tired smile. "Nothing good ever comes from letting them sneak up on you."

"As we've all learned well," she agreed. "Did I interrupt you?"

"No, I just. It's nothing. A letter. I was just—." The knuckles around the parchment went white as his eyes cast about for what he'd been on the verge of doing. "Burning it. I have to burn it."

Jerkily, he turned and lobbed it into the fire. Toxic green sparks leapt from it as it shriveled in the flames, and Lily wondered who would send parchment that reacted to heat. From the look on Remus' face, it wasn't meant to entertain. He looked as if he were going to be sick as he watched the fire crush the letter.

Lily moved closer to get a better look at him. Like Sirius and James, he was slender and somewhat taller than she was. Although he did not have Black's dark good looks or James' boy-next-door charm, his sun-lightened hair, shy smile, and earnest eyes gave plenty of girls enough to sigh over.

Up close, she could see his premature crow's feet and the lines forming around his mouth. Dark circles surrounded his eyes, and it looked as if he hadn't slept well in a few days. Perhaps that was the case-there had been a full moon barely a week before.

Ever since their second year, when she had figured out that the quiet boy with a very sick mother was a werewolf, Lily had gone back and forth with herself about whether to tell him she knew. On one hand, she wanted him to know that she was his ally. During their first year, he had been her friend when few others had, and she would stand by him, no matter what. Yet, on the other, it was his secret to tell and not her place to force him to confess.

And she had had other reasons for avoiding the conversation. For years Severus had been trying to sniff out Remus' secret. Lying to and dissuading him from pursuing his suspicions had been a lot easier without confirmation on Remus' part. When Severus had pressed her about her conversations with Lupin, she could honestly say that she had heard nothing and knew nothing.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

Cocking his head at an angle, he pondered her question. "Are you asking as a friend or Head Girl?" he asked finally.

"Would your answer be different?"

"Possibly."

She rolled her eyes, though her lips twitched with amusement. "Because a Marauder can't be caught confiding in an authority figure, is that it?"

He shared her smile. "If that were the case, we would have cast James out a few days ago."

"Not if you're trying to protect your interests."

Remus smirked, doing a frighteningly close impression of Black. "That's the advantage of having him for a ringleader—he won't turn himself in. No matter how poorly we treat him. You already witnessed our first attempt at humiliation."

"Stink bombs? I would have thought you guys were a little more sophisticated after all your years of practice."

"Nah. We're saving that for when he gets too big for his britches. Don't worry. We'll help you keep him in line."

She laughed at the offer. "I think Dumbledore was expecting it to be vice versa."

"So is James. Should make the surprise even better. And speak of the devil." Remus jerked his chin toward the boys' staircase where James was just alighting. His hair, still wet from the shower, looked as if it had laughed in his face when he tried to comb it. His fringe lay relatively smooth but the back stuck up as if he had just woken up. Cheeks still flushed from his shower, he looked like a little boy who had tried to tidy up for church.

A faint flush crept over Lily's cheeks as she recalled their encounter from the previous night. At least she could start setting things aright.

"Good morning, James."

He barely spared her a glance. "Morning. Moony, you didn't have to wait for me."

"I was just talking to Lily."

In the past, when they had been on the outs, this would have made him scowl. Instead, he looked bored. "Are you almost done then? I'm starving."

The need to say something pressed on Lily. She couldn't let him walk away without trying to fix things. "I'm sorry," she blurted. "About last night. I shouldn't have come at you like that."

"Really? Glad to get that off your chest, Evans? Come on Remus. We're going to miss breakfast if we keep wasting time."

Lily felt as if someone had punched her in the chest. Potter didn't spare a second glance in her direction as he headed out the portrait hole without waiting to see whether his friend would follow.

Remus ran a hand over his face. Tiredness crept across his features and deepened his wrinkles. "Let me talk to him," he promised. "He's been acting a bit erratic lately."

Erratic was exactly what James Potter was being, and she was relieved that she wasn't the only one noticing his behavior. It had been a long time since Lily had considered Remus a friend. Not since their first year when she had sat with him during class and meals because no one else would. In exchange, he had listened to her chatter as if he had never heard anything so interesting in his life. Unlike Severus, he had never had a condescending edge when answering her endless questions about the wizarding world. He seemed to enjoy sharing his knowledge and would often give longer answers than even she needed. She appreciated his offer to talk to Potter.

But tempting as his offer was, Lily knew that it was time for she and Potter to settle the tension between them. Seventeen was too old to still be using friends to shuttle messages back and forth.

"Thanks, but I think we need to sort this out ourselves," she told him.

Remus nodded and slipped his hands into his pockets. "He'll come around. Just give him some time. He has a lot on his plate right now."

He was right. Potter was trying to juggle both his Head Boy and his Quidditch captain responsibilities, not to mention schoolwork, which their professors were assigning liberally. Suddenly, things seemed easier to smooth out. She could even offer to take on some of his Head duties, if necessary.

"You're a good friend," she thanked him.

He shrugged, looking slightly embarrassed. "James is an even better one." Beneath his quiet voice, fervor gave greater meaning to his words. His gaze hardened as if challenging her to contradict him, and Lily wondered what Potter had done to earn that level of dedication.

"I'd better go catch up to him. I'll see you around, Lily."

She reached out and laid a hand on his arm. "I'm always here, you know. If you need anything." She had not forgotten the letter.

A slow smile spread across his face, taking a few years off his features. "I know you've been."

He gave her a nod and hurried after Potter.

Her chat with Remus had significantly lightened her mood. She still wished her father were only an owl away to offer his advice—more likely a gruff reminder of every time James Potter had landed her in the hospital wing—but missing him was a little easier in the sunlight. Last night's rain had given way to a morning in which the clouds softened the sun's rays, casting a soft glow over everything.

Caught up in her lightened mood, she enjoyed Di and Aurora's back and forth on their way to breakfast. They made plans for a picnic on the lake that weekend. By the time they reached the great hall, the previous night seemed a long way off and she couldn't wait for the day to be done and the next to come.

Settling themselves at the Gryffindor table, they helped themselves to the thin remnants of breakfast. Di surveyed the table—the short stack of sticky buns, the shallow bowl of eggs. "Any more early morning practices, and I'm resigning Quidditch." Rising onto her knee on the bench, she called down the table, "Hear that Potter? Make me miss breakfast again, and I'm quitting!"

Black leaned forward and answered before Potter could. "Good luck watching us lose from the sidelines."

Potter cuffed his best friend over the head. "It's not a one player team." Black laughed and put his arms up to block another blow.

"Did Professor McGonagall tell you to say that?" Di quipped.

"No, just reminding him that he forgot me," Potter called back, tossing her a wink. "You make it so easy, Tighe."

Lily and Remus rolled their eyes while Aurora, Black, and Pettigrew laughed and Di ran her tongue over her teeth. "We'll leave it for the pitch, Potter."

"Anytime," he grinned.

Di tossed her hair and settled back into her seat. They all laughed—her gesture was merely symbolic since she wore her hair cropped short.

Aurora shook her head though she was still grinning. "Three concussions, four broken bones, and you'd resign over breakfast?"

"How am I supposed to stay in top form without breakfast?"

A flurry above announced the arrival of the owl post. A bored looking barn owl settled in front of Aurora and stuck out its leg. She released the _Daily Prophet_ from its satchel and placed a knut in it in return. As if she had already wasted enough of its time, the bird took off immediately, almost clipping Di on the cheek with its wing. Wrinkling her nose, she pulled one of its feathers from the bowl of scrambled eggs.

"Is it really necessary to get that everyday?" she complained.

Aurora snapped the paper open. "Yes," she said from within its folds.

"It's all depressing anyway. Ministry Finds Another Infiltrator. So-and-so Is Dead. Five People Killed In A Bridge Collapse. Who wants to start their mornings with an obituary?"

"That news is important," Aurora replied. "It means Voldemort is gaining ground. Quickly. I'm surprised more people aren't interested in keeping up with what's going on. Apathy is going to catch up to us, and soon." She looked pointedly at Di.

The other girl shrugged. "If he comes, he comes. No use worrying about it before it happens."

"How can you say that? Especially after everything that happened this summer?"

Di froze as the color drained from her face. She licked her lips, as if they had suddenly gone dry. "And knowing what was coming would have made it easier? Right?"

Racking her brain for any news that stuck out over the summer, all Lily could remember was the Queen's visit to Northern Ireland and the rising cost of football players. Maybe Aurora was right. It was time she tuned in.

"I'm sorry," Lily interjected, "but what happened this summer?"

"You don't get the _Prophet_ either?" Aurora sounded disappointed, as if she expected Lily of all people to follow the news of the Wizarding World.

"I usually spend the summer catching up on what's going on in the Muggle World. And having owls swooping in and out of my house on a daily basis is a little conspicuous, don't you think?"

Relaxing a little as the tension eased, Di raised an eyebrow. "And since when do you care about being conspicuous? How many warnings have you received again?"

More than she had even told her friends about. Since she had first started Hogwarts, she'd received numerous warnings from the Improper Use of Magic Office for doing magic in front of Petunia, or rather, as Eunomia Quint, put it, "people without connection to the Wizarding World."

"Anyway," Lily said, steering clear of that discussion, "can you just tell me what happened this summer?"

Aurora set down the paper. "I think you know him as the Yorkshire Ripper, actually."

How could she have forgotten? Her mother had installed extra locks on the doors and windows after his latest victim, a young shop assistant, had been found brutally battered and stabbed less than four hours from their home. She was only sixteen. Despite the cost of petroleum, Mrs. Evans had even insisted that Petunia take the car when she stomped out, to be safe.

"He made it into the Wizarding news?"

Di's expression was grim. "He _is_ the Wizarding News, Lily. Maybe there is a Muggle running around killing women. But it's Death Eaters doing most of the killing. The Ministry is having a hell of a time covering it up."

A cold sensation gripped her stomach. She had been oblivious this summer. There were Death Eaters not four hours away from her house, and she had not even known it. Or had she?

Things from the summer began to fall into place. Feeling watched and followed. The movement she had caught out of the corner of her eye. Had Death Eaters been tailing her all summer?

Were they still watching her house? Her mother and Petunia were there, completely unaware of any danger. Door bolts and window locks were nothing to anyone with a wand.

Aurora touched her arm. "Are you okay?"

"See, Aura, all this does is upset people." Determined to appear unfazed by the discussion, she leaned forward and called down the table to a second year in glasses, "Hey, Specs, pass those eggs along, will you?" But for all her bravado, she couldn't hide the crease between her eyes.

It only deepened as Lily confessed that she had felt as if someone were watching her all summer and told them about the startled animals, sudden flashing lights, and the creeping feeling on her neck.

By the end, Aurora's hands were at her cheeks and Di was frowning.

"You should have told us," Aurora gasped and took Lily's hand.

"After the run in with Mulciber and Nott in the library, I thought I was just jumping at shadows. But perhaps not." Her mouth suddenly went dry. Was her home still being watched? Since returning to Hogwarts, the feeling of being followed had subsided but the Death Eaters had been only hours from her house all summer. Her mother and Petunia were there without anyone to defend them.

Terrified of wasting another moment, Lily scrambled out of her seat. "Tell Professor Flitwick I may be a little late."

"Where are you going?" Aurora demanded. "The bell's going to ring any moment."

"I have to warn my mum." She sprinted from the great hall, turning heads as she went.

Twenty minutes later, having sent her owl, Arete, off with a note for her mother, she opened the door to the Charms classroom as quietly as she could. To her relief, the sound of quiet chatter told her that the students had broken off into groups. Professor Flitwick's attention wouldn't be on her when she entered.

Sneaking in, she crept over to the only free chair, next to James Potter.

"So you decided to show up," he said as she set her bag down and slid into her seat.

"Of all people, you couldn't find a partner," she said coolly. She looked around for her friends. Finding them a few rows behind her, she pursed her lips. Di shrugged and Aurora mouthed, "Sorry." Lily turned back around to find Potter scowling at her.

"Considering I just covered for you, you could be a bit more polite. We're working on animating charms." On the desk between them lay a hammer and a small block of wood with a half-inserted nail. "Watch," he instructed.

"Animatio," he instructed with two flicks of his wrist. The hammer leapt up and began to pound the nail into the block of wood.

"Thanks," Lily told him beneath the hammer's tapping.

Their eyes met. She had expected to find his narrowed in hostility but instead, Potter's gaze was level behind his black spectacles. "I won't hold it against you."

"Unlike everything else."

"You ride a high horse, Evans."

"And you're sitting on the ground?" she retorted. Realizing that they were falling back into their old antagonism, Lily took a breath. They weren't going to resolve anything sniping back and forth. "Look, I made a mistake last night. I didn't mean to make you feel that way."

Potter ran a hand through his hair and the tightness around his lips softened. He looked unsure. Hoping that he was relenting, Lily ploughed on. "I'm sure we can work everything out. Things won't change overnight, but we can't give up just because we—I made one mistake."

His wand stilled the hammer. The nail had been perfectly inserted into the wood. "It's your turn," he said, summoning a second block from across the room.

She yanked it out of the air and slapped it on the desk. James Potter was being a prick. One misunderstanding and he acted like he was the only one with a right to be angry. Hadn't he spent years antagonizing her and her best friend?

But neither of them had been fair to the other since they had first met, and she was determined to mend the strain between them. They couldn't leave Hogwarts carrying the same grudges they had held since they were eleven. Her letter to her mother served as a reminder that as safe as Hogwarts felt, a cruel force was about to shake the wizarding world and they couldn't afford not to trust one another.

"We can't be friends," he said tersely. "I don't want to be."

Lily's stomach sank. "What happened to our truce?" Carefully, she positioned the block in front of her, making sure that its edges were perfectly parallel to those of the desk.

"We agreed we were colleagues, not friends. Professor Flitwick's coming. Look busy."

Biting her lip, Lily flicked her wand as Potter had shown her. The hammer rose shakily, but it straightened over the nail and fell true.

Professor Flitwick scurried into view. "Very good, Miss Evans! I see Mr. Potter has caught you up." Her professor flushed a deep red. "I assume everything is—ahem—taken care of?" he squeaked, looking extremely uncomfortable.

"Yes. Everything's fine. Thank you for excusing me," she said hesitantly, cutting her eyes at Potter as she spoke. He refused to meet her glare, but she could tell he was hiding a wide smile behind his hand.

"Not at all. I'm just glad-well, very good. Very good," Professor Flitwick muttered, his face now scarlet. Satisfied that her absence had not hindered her comprehension of the lesson, their professor hurriedly moved on to the next table where Isabelle Whimby's hammer was pounding a hole into the desk.

Lily turned toward her partner. "Maybe I shouldn't have been so fast to thank you for getting me off the hook. What did you tell him?"

Potter coughed trying to cover a laugh. "You know, the usual." He still wouldn't look at her.

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and that is?"

"Girl problems. Works like a charm, doesn't it?" He couldn't control his grin any longer as he finally faced her. His eyes were alight with mischief, and he appeared every bit as boyish as the first time she had caught him dipping her braid in ink when they were eleven.

"Potter," she gritted.

His grin looked about to burst his cheeks. "Not too loud remember. Don't want to blow your alibi."

Mortified that her professor thought she had been off taking care of her period, Lily grabbed up the hammer, not sure exactly where she wanted to hurt Potter first but certain that she wanted to do damage.

Laughing, he grabbed her wrist to hold her off. "Come on, Evans. Let's not make a scene."

Already woodchips were flying as the hammers around them began pounding into the wood blocks while their owners looked on. Across the room, Black was doubled over with laugher and behind them Aurora gave her a questioning look.

Breathing out through her nose, Lily settled back into her seat. Potter kept his grip on her wrist until she released the hammer. He yanked it up and moved it out of her reach.

She held out her hand for the tool. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hit you, this time," she assured him.

It was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "And next time?"

She leaned in close, smiling as sweetly as she could. "I'm giving you all the gory details."

Potter blanched, and she laughed as she retrieved the hammer from his limp hand. He just never learned.

After their initial exchange, Potter returned to his aloof self as they moved on from animating hammers to manipulating needles through cloth. But though they hardly spoke, she could feel him watching her when his attention wasn't on his assignment. His gaze sent a tingling sensation up and down her side, and she had to lean forward and examine the cloth in front of her for imaginary snarls in order to pretend she didn't notice. However, as soon as class was dismissed he scrambled from his seat without so much as a backward glance, as if he had spent all of class waiting to get away.

As she joined her friends at the door, Lily realized that James Potter was starting to consume far more of her thoughts than she liked.

By the end of the day, Lily was grateful for the weekend ahead. Already her professors were piling up essays, projects, and assignments. Professor Sprout released them to their Friday evening with a reminder that they would have to come in over the weekend to tend their plant plots in Greenhouse three.

Disgruntled at having to regularly spend part of their weekend in the greenhouse, the seventh years trudged back up to the castle.

"My mum threw a fit, but I'm glad I dropped Potions," sighed Sera. "How are we supposed to enjoy seventh year cooped up in a library?"

"No one said N.E.W.T.s were fun," grumbled Di.

"Raphael said he barely studied." Raphael was Sera's older brother. He shared his sister's light hair and eyes. However, he was shy and bookish. He had been a seventh year during their first, and both Aurora and Mary had had crushes on him, much to Sera's disdain.

"Doesn't he work in one of the Ministry's top secret departments though?" Mary asked.

"Regardless," sniffed Sera, "he can't be _that_ much smarter than me. Otherwise he would've been in Ravenclaw." Suddenly she gripped the arms of Aurora and Mary, who were on either side of her. "Girls, do you know what this means?"

Whether they actually wanted to know or not, Sera would share, but Lily humored her. "What?"

"Tutoring!" she said, clapping her hands. To Lily's skeptical look, she waved her hand. "Of course I'm not going to ask Callum, but there's his friend—what's his name? The one that looks like the lead singer for Goblin Market?"

Buoyed by the discovery of this silver lining, Mary and Sera carried them back to the castle on the waves of their chatter and lists of boys to pair with each of them. Aurora joined in for fun—she was neck-and-neck with Lily for top female in their year.

Di and Lily quickly grew bored of the planning and walked ahead.

"Aurora told me about last night," Di told her. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." She was grateful that Di didn't have to hear the news from her to lend her support. "I think I just needed a cry."

"Probably," her friend agreed. They walked on in companionable silence. Unlike Aurora, Di rarely overanalyzed anything. She preferred to get straight to the point and trim as much emotion as possible. Her abrupt way of handling matters was helpful in clearing some of the intellectual and emotional quagmire the rest of them could get tangled in.

"Potter can be thick." Di said all of a sudden. "Give him time."

Lily nearly stopped. She slowed enough that she had to skip a little to catch up with Di's longer strides.

"Have you been talking to Remus?"

"No. Why?"

Lily shrugged. "Just wondering." But she smiled at the second offering of hope.

She had not forgotten about Marlene McKinnon. Although her attempt to discover information through Potter had ended in a cold shoulder, she knew someone else who would be more than willing to provide some answers.

Professor Slughorn's office was small, but crammed with all of his overstuffed and tasseled furniture, it seemed even smaller. Pictures of his past favorite students waved, scowled, or winked down at her as she entered. Most prominent, at the moment, was that of a grinning, baby-faced young man, the Wimbourne Wasps' star beater, Ludo Bagman. He zoomed in circles on the poster, swinging his bat and pumping his fist. At times he thrust out his chest at an invisible audience below. Several years her senior, he had finished Hogwarts shortly after she arrived, but he remained something of a legend among the Hufflepuffs as he had brought their team and house the glory they were so often short-changed.

"Lily! M'dear! Come in, have a seat!" he called in answer to her knock at his door, which stood slightly ajar. It had been less than thirty minutes since the final bell of the day had rung and he was already at his desk, pouring himself a glass of wine. Pulling a second goblet from the shelf against the wall, he held up the port. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you." She sank into her usual chair, a winged armchair upholstered in purple brocade.

"Are you sure?" he chuckled. "As I've heard, you've had quite a week between Peeves and Mr. Potter!"

She politely declined his second offer, and he came around to settle onto the sofa across from her, a goblet gripped in his thick hand.

"I must say, I usually prefer to take my evening wine in solitude. But for you, I'll make an exception." Raising his glass, he toasted her before taking a long gulp and following it with a satisfied smack of his lips.

"Perfectly aged," he announced. "Arrived last night, from him." He gestured to the Ludo Bagman's picture, which was now raising his arms, encouraging the crowd to cheer. "He prefers much harder stuff, but he knows I like my port. But I don't think you stopped by to hear about my drinking habits," he chuckled. "What's on your pretty mind Miss Evans?"

Despite his shortcomings, Professor Slughorn was always so jovial and enthusiastic: Lily could not help but smile. But today, she smiled a little wider and laughed a little freer. It had dawned on her that there was someone other than Potter whom Marlene McKinnon may have told that she was visiting Hogwarts. Marlene McKinnon had been a part of Professor Slughorn's special group of students whom he invited to dinners and parties. A Quidditch star even brighter than Potter, Quidditch captain, Prefect, and Head Girl with a well-connected wizarding family—Marlene McKinnon had had all the filigree of a Slug Club member.

"I wanted to say hello. Class has been so consumed by our projects that I didn't get to hear about your trip to Paris."

Slughorn's voluminous mustache twitched above his smile. He was very fond of her. She was one of the few people who listened to all of his stories about his former students and never seemed to grow tired of the ones he repeated. It did not hurt that she was at the top of her class and an all around professor's favorite.

He happily detailed each meal he had had, lingering with relish over a particularly succulent duck he had at an event for the French Minister of Magic. Of course, one of his former students had been there on a diplomatic mission and had obtained an invitation for him.

It was almost too easy to segue into what she had truly come to find out. Swinging her legs over the arm of the chair, she flashed a mischievous smile in his direction. "Professor Slughorn, it's not like you to hold a Slug Club event that I don't get an invitation to. I would have loved to have seen the Parisian decorations!"

"Slug Club?" he asked, eyes widening.

"I was quite hurt, you know," Lily continued, looking down at her knees as if to hide a frown, "after all, we always have such a lovely time." She touched her sleeve to her eyes for added effect.

"M'dear," he spluttered, "there has to be a mistake. I haven't held a Slug Club meeting since last year."

"Really?" Lily peeked over her shoulder.

Too rotund to scoot forward on his cushion, Professor Slughorn huffed as he rocked himself from side to side to reach the edge of the sofa so he could reach out a pudgy hand to pat her arm. "What could have given you that idea?"

"I thought I saw Marlene McKinnon in the castle this week, and I could only assume that she was here for a Slug Club reunion."

"Ho ho! Marlene McKinnon! No, now that you mention her, I haven't heard from her in ages! I expected to see her in the pros by now, but I suppose she's busy with other things."

"Other things?" she asked politely.

The joviality slid from his face. "The Ministry has a lot on its hands now, doesn't it? I've heard their hard pressed keeping this nasty business happening around the country under wraps."

Disappointed that Slughorn knew nothing about Marlene, Lily allowed her professor to redirect the conversation. Eager not to dwell on the state of the Ministry, he soon asked her about her Potions project.

"Have you and Mr. Black begun work on your project? He's not being too disruptive, is he?"

Lily shook her head. To her surprise, Black had actually put some effort into their work. He had already compiled a list of books to research and charmed Professor Sprout into giving them access to all of the Greenhouses should they need to use any rare plants. A few days ago, she would have said that it was all Potter's doing, but now, it looked like Black was truly committed to their work.

Not wanting to withhold credit where it was due, Lily told her professor about the work he had put in just that week. "He's been very helpful so far. He's much more focused when there's not an audience to entertain."

"Certainly an entertainer and popular with the ladies. Don't give me that look" (for Lily was suppressing a smile.) "Not quite like the rest of his family, that one," he said. "You probably know his cousin, Bella. She's quite a piece of work. No wonder his mother—." He stopped short and his eyes became shifty. "Well, surely you know. You're in Gryffindor."

Her heart lurched just at the memory Bellatrix Black. A piece of work did little justice to the girl's sadism. An entire crowd had watched as she broke every toe, one by one, of a first year who had accidentally stepped on her foot while avoiding a whizzing plate that Peeves had decided to play frisbee with in floor corridor.

Beyond tales of his way with the ladies and his pranks, she had never thought much about his personal life. Until Professor Slughorn had mentioned it, Black's relation to Bellatrix had slipped her mind. He may have had a similar penchant for bullying but with none of the cruelty that his cousin possessed.

Curious, Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Then again," he backtracked, "it's not as if. Well it's all very unpleasant. Very unpleasant. The Blacks can be a bit impulsive." When Lily said nothing, he began to look uncomfortable. "But you must know by now. Sirius Black was disowned."

A tiredness she had never seen came over Professor Slughorn's face and his girth seemed to deflate a little. He passed his hand over his face. "Always thought he was a little different from the rest of them. Well, it was clear when he ended up in Gryffindor. Not a single one of them has been anything but Slytherin, even their one cousin—I forget her name. Married a muggle not too long ago."

Knowing how much stock pureblood families put into houses, she understood that they probably hadn't been pleased with the results of his sorting. But what could he have done for them to disown him? He could be an arrogant prick, but no more than any other boy his age with his good looks and natural talent.

"No need to look so upset, m'dear, I'm sure everything is working out for the best. And now," he rocked himself to his feet. Standing, he wasn't much taller than he had been sitting down, but the room seemed to shrink a little. "I'm afraid I have to hurry you along for now. I have an appointment with Professor Sprout, and unfortunately, I had to cancel our first meeting to go to France. Never be a stranger. Things do get a little lonely, and you're a spot of sunshine in an old man's dreary existence."

Laughing, Lily rose and collected her things. "Dining with the French Minister of Magic is hardly what I would call a dreary existence, but I suppose it must be exhausting to have such famous connections. One must be keeping up with so many people and accomplishments."

Mustache lifting in a walrus-like smile, her professor conceded by raising his glass to her. "As always, your cheek is endearing, Miss Evans, and keeps me honest."

Parting ways at his door, she tried to keep her voice casual as she asked that he let her know if Marlene were ever up to visit him. Without a hesitation of suspicion, he happily agreed and offered to help them get better acquainted.

As she passed by the Potions classroom, she was surprised to see a light under the door. A breathy voice answered her quiet knock.

"Wait! One minute!"

Afraid she was interrupting something she would rather not walk in on, Lily was about to retreat when the door jerked open. A cloying smell wafted from the room and Dorcas Meadowes' hair haloed her face. Her face was flushed a deep pink and her eyes watered, but she smiled when she saw Lily.

"I didn't realize you were working," Lily apologized.

"Professor Slughorn lets me use the room for projects," she explained. "I'd invite you in but this is a particularly unpleasant potion. As you can probably see."

"What is it?"

"You may know it as the Prisoner's Dream potion. No one really uses it anymore. It was more popular before Azkaban. Wizards used it to keep people captive because it muddles the mind while leaving memories intact."

"Who are you planning to hold hostage?"

Dorcas chuckled and opened door enough that she could squeeze through to join Lily in the corridor. "Your eyes would start watering after a few seconds longer exposure," she explained. "I promised Professor Slughorn that I would destroy it after. Not exactly something anyone wants floating around."

"I don't remember coming across it in our book."

"Well, no." Dorcas looked down at the floor. "It's not considered a N.E.W.T. level potion. It's really finicky and can easily go wrong. Wizards have lost their memory or minds taking it."

Dorcas' skill was impressive. Having partnered with her on several occasions the year before, Lily knew her facility but had had no idea that her ability was so advanced. Severus was the only other student Lily could think of who would be able to brew such advanced potions without supervision.

"I had no idea you worked on special projects. How long have you been doing this?"

"Since my cauldron exploded in my room last year. Professor Flitwick was livid. Of course, I had taken precautions in the case of such an event, but she didn't want to hear any of it. Apparently, Professor Slughorn overheard him squeaking in the faculty room and offered his classroom. It's much easier here anyway. No one sighing or grumbling while I work. I should have asked him in the first place, I suppose, but I didn't think he'd agree."

"It's wonderful that he did, and you can have your own space. I shouldn't keep you, though."

"It needs to simmer for a few minutes anyway. It's good to see you. Outside of class, that is. I never had a chance to ask—are you okay?" At Lily's blank look, she added, "After Defense Against the Dark Arts. Yesterday."

"Oh, yes. I'll admit I was a bit shaken, but I've recovered. Thank you for asking."

Dorcas smiled pleasantly in response, but her expression was somewhat vacant, which meant she had reached the end of her social tether.

Lily asked a few more polite questions about her first week back and her other potions work. Although there was no strain in the exchange, both were relieved when Doras' potion called her back inside and they had an easy excuse to part.

Lily set off for the Gryffindor Tower deep in thought. Although she had learned nothing more about Marlene McKinnon from Slughorn, he had left her with plenty to contemplate. Not that she and Black were particularly well acquainted, but not once in her seven years of knowing him had he ever hinted that his home life was anything less than spoiled and well-cared for. Both he and Potter had the air of silver spoon fed childhoods.

First year, she had assumed that Bellatrix was the anomaly in the family. She and her sisters, a quiet brunette and a haughty blonde, had been renowned at Hogwarts for their beauty. Lily had learned to fear the eldest but the other two had seemed aloof yet harmless.

However, from what Professor Slughorn suggested, Bellatrix wasn't the only one with pureblood values in her family. Perhaps the others were not as virulent but they valued bloodline enough that the Gryffindor Black, who practically made it his career to prank Slytherins as often and inconveniently as possible and made it known that his circle could include anyone regardless of their blood heritage, had been excommunicated.

It occurred to Lily, as she reached the seventh floor landing, that for all their happy-go-lucky attitude and love of attention, the Marauders harbored some very dark secrets. She wondered if Potter had any. The thought intrigued her.

At any given time, there was only one thing that James could find immediately in wreck of a room he shared with Sirius, Peter, and Remus: his broom. In the meantime, he was tossing around half of Zonko's Joke Shop stock, exploding expletives, discarded clothes, and pieces of one of the six chessboards they owned in search of his Quidditch arm guards.

Finding them beneath a wrinkled copy of _Circe's Mansion_ with two scantily clad witches on the cover of the magazine, he tucked them into his belt.

He had another hour before practice started, but he had to make a stop along the way.

Remus looked up from his latest book. "Are you heading out already?"

"Soon," he answered non-committally.

"Are you meeting up with Cressida?" To his surprise, his friend's voice was cool.

James paused in his hunt for his second shin guard. "No. Why?"

"Nothing." Remus picked up his book again and went back to reading, or at least pretending like he was.

It was just the two of them in the room. Peter and Sirius were serving detention for charming the girls' toilets to make loud belching noises.

Getting defensive, James crossed his arms. "Do you have a problem with her?"

"Not if you don't."

"Well I don't."

"Do you like her?"

James glared over at his friend. "So do we start braiding one another's hair now or after I have a cry on your shoulder?" All week his friends had been probing him about his sudden friendship with the Ravenclaw who'd drawn his name in Potions.

Honestly, she was way too forward and wore too much makeup for his tastes. But she showed interest in him, and he couldn't think of a better opportunity to put some distance between himself and Lily, who had all of a sudden decided that she wanted to be friends. Before this year, he would have been over the moon and off with the spoon at her tiptoeing gestures, but she couldn't have timed them worse. With the possibility of Voldemort coming after him, he didn't want her anywhere near him.

"You're not leading her on, are you?"

Remus had set aside his book again. His face was set, as if he was determined to pursue this conversation no matter what James threw at him. James almost sighed. Moony was such a gentleman.

"We're not going anywhere. I promise."

"Did you tell her that?"

No, he hadn't. He figured he would just play along until things came to a head. "Haven't gotten around to it yet." James went back to looking for his shin guard. Behind him, he heard Remus' bed creak.

"What about Lily?"

"What about her?"

"You magically got over her?"

James spun around to find Remus perched on the end of his bed. For a moment he considered retorting that it was none of his damn business. But that wasn't fair. He was the one who had asked his friends to give up sleep and time to look out for her.

He slumped against Sirius' bedpost and ran a hand through his hair. "It's sort of complicated." What wasn't when it came to Lily Evans?

"I think I can try to figure it out," Remus told him encouragingly.

Half expecting his friend to scoff at his theories about the Dark Lord, James haltingly explained the conclusions he had drawn from Peter's report. Even to him, they sounded highly improbable when he said them aloud.

Remus was quiet for a few minutes when he finished. At least he was taking time to consider what he'd said. James waited for his friend to speak, shifting his weight against the bedpost.

"Have you received anything, other than hearsay, to make you think Voldemort wants you in his pocket?"

"No. Just a feeling."

His friend nodded slowly, rubbing the shadow of his beard in thought.

"So you think I'm jumping to conclusions?" James asked when Remus said nothing.

"No. What you said about him infiltrating us to sway the students makes a lot of sense." As if to validate his true consideration of James' thoughts, Remus' face paled. "You haven't received any letters or anything? Not that your plan isn't valid. It just seems to be roundabout for a first try."

James shrugged. "Maybe. But owls can be traced. And what if we showed one of the letters to Dumbledore? Or a professor? He'd never have a chance of getting anywhere near us. He won't want to put anything in writing unless he's absolutely sure it wouldn't get passed us."

Remus didn't seem completely convinced, but he conceded that what James said made the most sense. Standing up, he fished a pair of pants out of his drawers. "Okay, I understand why you're doing what you're doing but be careful. They may start to feel used, especially Cressida."

As usual, Moony was right. As forward as she was, no girl deserved to be strung along and then dropped once she had served a purpose. But maybe, if he explained that he needed a friend to help him protect another, she'd be willing to help. It couldn't hurt to ask.

James spotted his shin guard underneath Sirius' bed. He retrieved it and tucked the rest of his Quidditch gear beneath his arm.

"Remus?"

His friend emerged through his tshirt. "Yeah?"

"Thanks. For keeping me a gentleman."

Moony rolled his eyes. "Someone has to do it. Thank goodness Sirius wasn't here to derail my efforts." They shared a laugh before James headed out.

He found her examining an ancient looking scroll in her classroom. Her back was to him but she spoke before he had raised his hand to knock.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Potter?"

Just her voice made his heart accelerate against his ribs. The shadows made the bronze in her hair ripple. He closed the door behind him.

"I have a favor, Professor."

"And what might that favor be?" she asked, finally turning from her reading. In the half-light, her skin was luminous and her eyes seemed to glow. Her beauty muddled his head, and it took several tries before he could speak properly.

"I want to learn how to fight the Imperius Curse."

"One of your classmates reported our lesson to the Headmaster. He has asked that I suspend further use of such advanced magic on my students."

"No one has to know," he offered.

"I sense that this is not in the name of scholarly pursuit."

Of course it wasn't. Erasing the image of Lily's bloodless face as he turned on her was going to take along time. And he wanted to make sure no one could turn him against those he cared about ever again.

"No. Not entirely."

Professor Harker waited. He had yet to convince her.

"During our first class, you said that you would break me of my weakness for Lily Evans but in that same class, she proved my greatest strength. She gave me back my mind, and I'm not planning on losing it again anytime soon."

The air in the room became uncomfortably thick as the silence persisted. James could feel it clogging his nose and his throat, filling his ears like cotton. Professor Harker's face was inscrutable when she finally spoke. "Come back Tuesday, and we'll see how you fare, Mr. Potter."

As quickly as it had risen, the thick air cleared and he took a deep breath.

"Thank you, Professor."

"Hold your thanks, Mr. Potter. And not a word."

"Not one," he promised.


End file.
